The Song of Machines
by Littlepipy
Summary: A terrible consuming power has been unearthed by the Fallen, deep within an isolated region, the Plaguelands. When Hunter, leader of Sabled Sun, learns about this rising threat, his journey of taking down SIVA sprouts. Trying to overcome his past of failure and terrible mistakes, Hunter aids the crisis and endeavours to find peace, both with the help of his fireteam.
1. i - First Contact

**_Author's Note_**

 _The Song of Machines_ is a project that had taken me three months to complete, with a total of twenty chapters, including an epilogue. It was one of the most difficult writing endeavours I have endured, though the time I put into it was beyond worth it. There were countless nights spent awake as I tried to find ways to improve the story as best as I could. The chapters titled are all named after the song that sparked inspiration for every one. This story wouldn't have been possible without the dark ambient tracks that influenced me during writing, ultimately creating something different yet stable. There were several points during writing where I got completely lost in my mind, hence the bizarre things that will bloom as you read. I will release chapters after revision (honestly will only take a day with my schedule). Until then, I appreciate you giving this monstrosity a read.

First Contact - watch?v=Y0zJnymZT-I

* * *

 _The Divide,_

 _Old Russia, Earth_

* * *

Snow.

It was all around me, covering the once barely green Cosmodrome, filled with abandoned rusted warehouses, dilapidated through years of discord. The amidst dying trees bore red veins with tiny particles coursing through them; and not even this spirit was of sadness; instead, there was a hint of sinister laughter, but a one more terrible than any sadness. It was called SIVA, the blood of the harrowing abominations the Fallen had released upon this world, slowly becoming tainted and corrupted. Through the blowing snow, towers of red forged in a combustion of reactions, debris dispersing and twisting and transforming to tiny dots burning in a phosphorescence glow. The nanites responded to their own will and nature, determined by their directives. A swarm of red beads flew around the node, albeit aimlessly. But there was that power. Forever burned in the lungs and infected the lands.

The Iron Lords had supposedly sealed this power away by sacrificing themselves to save humanity from an unstoppable crisis, after realising the power was too complex to understand without losing oneself. Lord Saladin was the very last one to survive the raid. The outcome hadn't been what they were expecting because their plan was to obtain SIVA and use it with a purpose, a reason that could provide a level of security to the fragments of humanity, clinging onto dear life; but they were consumed and destroyed by the tech, who had its own purpose and fate as it willed itself to retaliate back.

Tempered and consumed by the ruby flames of SIVA, nothing could seem to tame its incredible power despite the indomitable spirit the Lords possessed; Rasputin was their nightmares vitalised to life, but still, they all fought valiantly, swinging their scorching red iron battle axes to tear the SIVA constructs and machines, appearing as a squid with many eyes and several tentacles, that were forged. The darkness of the replication chamber was distantly illuminated by a red tint, exuded by the songs that thrummed through the complex as the battle grew in a great rage. And as the Iron Lords, standing under an iron-hot blaze, they withdrew their powers and unleashed the fury of Light; a maelstrom of the Elements stormed and shattered the fabric of reality as several disks washed over the expanse, but still, their combined power wasn't enough. The nanites countered back with an equal vendetta and struck back, red tendrils flailing and weakening the Lords. The machines became faster and more complex, further discouraging the outclassed. And yet, the Iron Lords remained resilient and fought back twice as hard.

And in their last hopes of victory, they endured their final stand by initiating a self destruct sequence to destroy the dark power. Standing with valiance and determination, the Lords began the last fight and pulled their orange-hot axes out, one last time. They slammed the ground, fissures and cracks spanning over the area, and magma erupted melting and forging a new path of dreams. And as victory seemed inevitable, most of the Iron Lords sacrificed themselves to eradicate the last of the machines forged under the haunting laws of the domain.

And now the pesky, insolent Fallen had found that ancient power and warped themselves into machines to worship SIVA. Their once destroyed god, Sepkis Prime, had been revived as a result of SIVA exposure, and the Fallen had been going haywire and absolutely mad. Their insanity was the turning point of the reports scouted by other Guardians, who were the first ones to respond to Saladin's transmission over our encrypted frequency. They had dispatched a fireteam and confronted the Iron Temple's observatory, deep within the mountains of Felwinter's Peak, where their revived Sepiks was trying to raid the temple for manuscripts of the nanotech. In retrospect, the Fallen were often scandalous, piratical, and mischievous, always getting into trouble and being a pure, utter annoyance. The only reason we waged war against them was because they detest us for being chosen by the Great Machine; the whirlwind was the Fallen's greatest loss; and yet, the beasts were more than capable of forming a legion with us Guardians, but they always want to fight to show their will and endurance. And now they had tempered with something dark and consuming, something that was obviously uncontrollable.

And now all Guardians were defending the City from the terrible infectious plague. My fireteam, Sabled Sun, were scattered, doing our own tasks set by Saladin. My brother, Paledon, was in the Rocketyard looking for the wall breach, leading to the Plaguelands. And as I continued to push through the open fields of the Divide, nothing but white filled my eyes and senses. The brisk winds and blowing air made me shiver; with a trembling form, it was considerably difficult to hold onto my Boomer, collected from the days of the Taken War.

A crippled, throbbing arm shot memories of the Hive Knight who blasted me with this ruinous siege, physical anguish tearing through me. Images of a splotch of mismatched, perpetually brunt armour and flesh reminded me of the terrible darkness that lurked deep within the burrows of the Dreadnaught. The Knight forced me to falter under its influence, but I, rising from the ashes, displaced the beast with the Void, a spawn of purple flushing over the Hull Breach and consuming everything for a mere four seconds; and at that moment, the enchanted damage I inflicted on the ancient Knight was great enough to perish it from the universe and claim its weapon. The Knight of Doom had taken many lives during the Taken War, and I saw to its end.

Glancing at the blue celestial shard glowing with potential, I said, "Any luck on picking up SIVA signatures?"

"Not yet," Ro, my Ghost, said, "but I am picking up heat signatures up ahead, past the destroyed tank."

In the distance augmented Vandals and Shanks were on patrol, though they appeared different and eldritch—their forms distorted and strange. They were armed with modified Shock Rifles with a red cloud surrounding them. The assailants appeared unlike any normal Fallen as they had a more robust appearance. They didn't see me as I was naturally cloaked in the midst of the snow. Being a Hunter had many perks this way. "Well, that's new," Ro said above my left shoulder. "Should we engage?"

"Yes. They are threats. It looks like SIVA has really done something to them. And to their weapons," I said, composing myself for battle.

For a moment, everything was silent; so silent I couldn't hear my own breathing or the winds that unknowingly picked up as the enemy advanced, claiming sight of me, then engaged with blasts of the dark. A barrage of projectiles flew their way to me and impacted me, putting a moderate dent in my shield. I turned my attention to the three augmented Shanks chasing after me from a few metres away. Out in the open with no adequate cover in the immediate vicinity, I opted to face the threat with a vendetta and a charged weapon.

I went invisible with a readily available smoke bomb and slid in the opposite direction of my enemy, so my body skidded through the frozen earth. I turned around and unleashed my Boomer, being careful not to misdirect any shots. Each shot sounded that of thunderous roar that rocked the battlefield. And even though the Shanks fought valiantly with determination to take me out, they dropped like the snow that precipitated from the sky. I silently prided myself as all of them were dispatched, creating negligible explosions upon impacting the ground. Their shields were formidable, but were like paper, despite the wrong element being used to eliminate them.

For a moment, the environment was still and silent, giving me enough time to compose myself, but to no avail, Vandals were advancing on my position. They were heading toward me, so I vaulted over the destroyed tank and sought cover behind it, and in doing so might have saved me from dying. The weapons they were using were unlike anything I had seen. An augmented Shock Rifle with explosive tracking projectiles was mighty-impressive yet something that I didn't want to confront head-on. The projectiles flew above my head and exploded a little way from me, spawning harmless disks of red.

Another salvo flew above my head, leaving me unscathed for now; but as I sat in the cold snow, the more I was going to lose ground. And in that exact moment, nodes of SIVA, rising from the snow, surrounded me and begun to chew away at my armour. There were strange whispers that found their way into my head; the voices echoed and bounced from ear to ear, but they couldn't be suppressed, no matter what I did. Their influence was strong on the mind, which tried desperately to be freed from its grasp but wasn't successful. I didn't have time to deal with psychosis again, especially now of all times.

Closing my eyes, while ignoring the reinforcements being dropped off by the Skiffs and the nodes, I focused and calmed the mind from intruders. The whispers sounded akin to a weeping child lost in the City. Harrowing and consuming they were, unable to control their ownself. They slowly dwindled as I mediated, focusing on purging the dark whispers of the nanotech. And instantly, the mind clear, everything around me made sense and that's when I vaulted out of cover and confronted my opponents.

A Vandal charged at me, striking me with his melee attack, causing me to drop my weapon. I was stunned, unable to move briefly, but after a moment of recovery, I got my wits together, though they were shattered when the Vandal kicked my weapon away. I smiled in my helmet and then gave a half-suppressed laugh before shotting the thing down with my suppressed sidearm and throwing a knife at its head. Retrieving my weapon was easy, but then the other Vandals struck me down with serene grace of their augmented weapons, explosions shattering my senses and leaving me in the dust. With blowing snow and debris covering the battleground, I countered by firing lobes of rotting Arc at the enemy, who staggered heavily. And when my senses came back, I heard my screams for battle as I ran headstrong, throwing several knives st their head, releasing a tracking red orb that detonated in the air.

My body still, my mind clear and free of all senses, I fearlessly stared into the Void. My mind steered once more through the empty space of nothingness and snatched a handful of the Void. My consciousness was lost, leaving me vulnerable to attack, but only for a split second before my consciousness was reclaimed, charging me with an influx of power, despite the little dark energy, I had grasped in comparison to the infinite of dark energy in the insurmountable vacuum of space. The purple raging flames danced around me and infused its raw power into my very essence. A Void bow sought to the merciless end of the group that seemed to burn with a fiery breath for battle.

The other Vandals brandished their weapons and opened fired at me, but it was only in vain, for I, tempered by the Void, absorbed their attacks and discharged the energy back at them. A massive explosion thundered through the battlefield, knocking me down, then sliding across the gelid snow. Dust and debris flew everywhere and struck numerous groups of reinforcements that we dropped off by a Skiff. But still, in my best efforts to forge victory with the Light, the Fallen recovered and convoked a larger group of allies. Shanks and Dregs and Vandals were emerging from distant warehouses and ruined buildings filled with riches and caches. They, too, were augmented and exuded red signatures.

Their weapon ablaze, a barrage of projectiles jetted my way, but I leapt high in the air, evading it all together, then landed, before bolting to the nearest piece of cover, the destroyed tank. A Fallen Captain, empowered by SIVA, was standing right in front of my eyes—its form completely warped. Surrounded by an aura of Void, the towering Captain, its hierarchic stature still the same as an ordinary Captain, appeared distorted and consumed, as if its thoughts were not its own. There were curved horns affixed on the head, and red tubes were entwined all over his body. Its fire-blasting Shrapnel Launcher was ready to open fire.

The Captain's many eyes stared at me in disbelief, and peals of muffled laughter escaped from its mouth. He didn't respond with words, but rather the pull of his trigger, sending hurtful, burning shots in my direction. With no longer intact shields, I could feel the shrapnel burrowing inside my armour. It sent searing pains that extended from the central point of impact to my lower extremities, causing me to falter to the ground. The most I could do in such a weakened state was shadestep to the left and get behind a rusty truck.

I focused my mind into the Void and conjured up two Vortex Grenades and tossed them at the Captain, hoping it would be enough to wipe out his shield, but it barely did a quarter of what I was hoping. And as I fought through the terrifying Fallen, their eyes and features dark and unearthly, savage-minded and desperate for blood, the tides of the battle shifted when a Skiff tore through the air, right above the Captain, dropping more Vandals and Shanks, whereupon the ship had vanished into the sky. The reinforcements assailed their way to me, focus-firing on my position. I ran through the open, a cloud of purple smoke trailing behind me, then dispersed into nothingness as I vanished. Cloaked amongst the shadows, I stealthily moved through the vicious predators; the cold snow and wind made it difficult to contest, but I fought through the gelid wickedness, appearing before the group. A puff of dark-purple smoke blinded everything caught in the vortex, and I was merely their end.

The sinister laughs these Fallen practised put me at unease and I countered with burning blasts of Lord of Wolves, a prized possession of mine. Fiery bursts of shrapnel tore through the tough augmented armour; the fragments disjointed the wires that were coiled around them, and the group instantly exploded under their own faulty will. The Captains and Vandals, however, still stood, as I only broke through their first line. They sent me reeling, unleashing blasts from their twisted weapons. I recovered, then countered with several blasts from my Boomer, sending rumbling thunder through the blizzard.

But in the distance, I could hear a constant rumble noise, as if it were some automobile being used, a Sparrow to be more accurate. As the Captain, Vandals, and Shanks kept a steady lock on me while they fired their weapons, I reappeared and rolled on the ground, then discharged some brutal shots at the group, ultimately staggering a few—although not all. The ones who stood, unscathed, countered me harder. The Vandals were picking something from their side and it appeared to be a ball of SIVA energy. The trio threw them at me, and it sent me sliding through the snow.

As I tried to get up, I collapsed to the cold ground, feeling the pain as strong as one hundred knives sinking into my stomach. Groaning and yelping with anguish, I writhed in the snow, clutching my body. My eyes began to water with the sheer pain and my breathing emulated in sharp, shallow rasps. Sweat rilled down the side of my face and my hearing slowly became distorted; it was as if my body was shutting down. I was writhing on the ground helplessly. Ahead of me were Fallen, powered by SIVA, and they all cheered in victory for defeating me. The Captain stepped up to me and knelt before me as if I was some deity or Prime Servitor.

The Captain raised his weapon to my head, his finger steady on the trigger.

I kicked the Captain in the head, and jammed a knife through its arm, though it hurt me more than it did him, it bought me enough time to rise up and fire my Boomer. With the little energy I had left, I dodged my assailant's attacks, and that's when my attention snapped to a violent sharp clang of something.

Paledon!

The brute Suncharged his way through the crowd of Fallen; most notably the Shanks fell first, then the Vandals, though there were a few left unscathed. Paledon charged his way to the Captain, and when I saw what he was doing I shouted, "Be careful! Don't underestimate the strength of that thing!"

Paledon struck the Captain with a force just as great of a train. The Captain flinched tremendously, and Paledon went in for a second swipe to finish him for good, but he made a teleported away, red streaking in the air, making Paledon miss. After that, Paledon collapsed to the ground from exhaustion but got up after a moment of recovery. The Captain opened fired on him, but he seemed to have taken the shots better than I have. He popped a few rounds from his shotgun, stupefying his target with slug rounds. His opponent reeled back, defenceless, but made a comeback and returned fire. The beast of a thousand arms and master of the herd, countered by summoning red tendrils that ejected from the ground and damaged Paledon to great lengths. But as Paledon tried to get up, the Captain knocked him down and tormented the Titan with laughs.

Tempered by the fires of my iron will, I remained steadfast despite all the pain and stood up. Aimed my Boomer at my prize. I shot rapidly, not caring about how barbarous my nature was. The Captain staggered away, suffocating from the burning lobes of electricity. A massive static charge grew immensely and discharged several mini-bolts of lightning, ultimately disintegrating the beast into a cloud of blue.

The last thing I remember was the world fading from white to black.

* * *

Light.

There was some light.

And something cold and strange.

As my consciousness swam back into reality, I found myself laying on an old mouldy mattress, with raggy blankets tucked around me, feeling oddly warm and cold. The place smelt of faint mildew and dampness undoubtedly from the decaying warehouse, overtaken by years of entropy. Emptied supply crates barricaded the slightly ajar doors in front of me, a small gust of wind finding its way in. There were Fallen on the other side, I could hear them muttering things in Eliksni. I looked around and saw Paledon meditating by an ablaze oil drum. Smoke was coaxing the place, but the ventilation system diffused it to the outside. "Why are you hogging all the warmth? That's not classy you know."

Paledon turned around, surprised by my awakening. "You're finally awake!" he said, followed by a snicker.

"How long was I out?"

"Only two hours and counting," he replied, standing up. "You got knocked out pretty hard. That Captain…I have never seen the Fallen so resilient."

I got off the mouldy bed. "It's what happens when you mess with SIVA I guess." Naturally, I went to the fire barrel for warmth. I put my hands over the flames, the crisp blaze carrying heat through my near chilled form. "So what'd we got?"

"There is a massive spike of SIVA happening in the Rocketyard," Paledon said, browsing through some metal shelf with possibly useful items. "The Splicers are trying to control the flow of remaining Hive there."

"That can't be good."

"You're right. Intel from Shiro-4 says that there's a Captain overseeing the assault. We take him out, and we might just get our ticket to getting into the Plaguelands."

"The what now?" I asked, picking up my Boomer.

"The lands were SIVA was sealed by the Iron Lords centuries ago."

"I see."

"So, c'mon, we don't want to deal with SIVA-infused Hive."

I nodded. "Let me lead."

Lightly and elegantly, I leapt over the crates and landed with grace. Light from the outside world seeped through the ajar doors, stimulating my senses. With my suppressed sidearm on hand, I peeked through the door and noticed a Vandal and Dreg patrolling near a rusted truck. Pushing the door open let a quiet screech of metal rubbing on metal, but I squeezed through, then ran, charging at the duo. As I caught them off guard, I shot the Vandal in the chest three times, then jumped on the Dreg, taking him down before stabbing him in the throat.

Paledon followed suit and we both nodded without a word.

We summoned our Sparrows, all-terrain thrust bikes with one purpose: Moving from objective to objective with unmatched speed. Revving the engine, a resounding roar tore through the skies as I accelerated, then made a sharp U-turn and blazed through a snowy field, filled with Splicers. I out-manoeuvred them by driving in unpredictable patterns, moving right then left. Eventually, we were out of their range and they resumed doing what they were doing before the disruption. We tore through a roadway, sandwiched by two massive factories, whose entryways and stairwells were blocked by a chain-link fence. SIVA-infused trees consumed the brickwork, losing its structure. Soon these building would collapse under the influence of SIVA.

We turned a corner and found ourselves in the Rocketyard, an abandoned train yard with derailed trains and cargo littering the grounds. More abandoned warehouses towered over the grounds and between the railways, where a battle between Hive and Splicers broke out. Crates and sheet metal were flying through the air, and a Captain even flipped a ruined traincart to provide cover for this minions; their augmented weapons were no match for the dark powers of the Hive.

Paledon and I hopped off our bikes and hid behind a warehouse wall. I peeked over the battleground and saw a Wizard get taken out along with her spawn of Thrall. "I thought the Splicers were trying to capture the Hive, not kill them," I said, keeping my weapon close, and looking down at Paledon.

"Change in developments," Paledon said. "The Splicers must be evolving exponentially with SIVA."

"So that means we need to intervene?"

"We must regain control of this area. If we don't, we're going to have a difficult time controlling the flow of SIVA. We cannot let it spread any more than it already has."

I nodded. "Let me engage first." Slipping past the flash mob of enemies was easy, it was getting into a good position that proved to be challenging. My invisibility was beginning the fade, my sixth sense was telling me. I remained behind a concrete brick, unnoticed. When my invisibility faded, I vaulted out of cover and engaged.

A trio of Vandals opened fire on me with their tracking rifles, putting a severe dent in my shields, but I recovered swiftly and countered them with a few taps of my Boomer, disrupting their ability to react. Numerous Dregs charged forward, ignoring the Hive's retaliation, and tried to slice me with daggers, but I leapt onto a train cart. I unleashed countless shots from my Boomer onto the group of Splicers, who were staggering violently, unable to form a means of retaliation. The burning pain in my arm from the severe recoil took its toll and I had to stop firing. "Strike now, Paledon!"

The Titan charged in, using his lift to gain an in-air advantage. With a rocket mounted on his shoulders, two rockets, crisscrossing each other in flight, blared from the barrel, tracking onto the group. A massive explosion rocked the grounds, sending dust, snow, and debris flying everywhere. A heap of smoke hazed the entire area. And as he landed, I joined in, our backs touching as we knuckled up for a battle. The smoke cleared, revealing the unscathed group of Splicers who roared for battle and opened fire on our position. Instantly, Paledon deployed a Ward of Dawn, protecting us from all harm. "This will hold for now," he said. "Strike with everything you have, brother!"

I nodded and saw to it that the Splicers would endure a punishment greater than the span of life itself. I charged to the group, explosive shots being drilled into those who opposed me. The thunderous clash of shots echoed in my head, deafening me to a point, a ringing plaguing my hearing, but I kept waging the battle. A group of Vandals closed in on me with Shock Blades, but I disarmed one of them with a kick, retrieving a blade, whereupon we all exchanged quick parries and feints. I rolled to the side dodging a swing, before being shot by the Captain. The burning shrapnel burrowed deep in my armour, but I prevailed through the pain and focused on killing these Vandals.

I swung violently. Our blades cling and clanged, Arc sparks flying everywhere. Grunts elicited from me as I tried to overcome their strength and endurance, but it was a useless endeavour. I did this while eluding shots from the newly engaging sniper Shanks and Vandals, posted on distant catwalks around the surrounding facilities. "Paledon. Focus on those snipers!" I said, my breathing cut short. I ducked, saving my head from being severed, then, when the trio let their guard down, stabbed one in the chest, then threw two knives at their heads. I whipped around and was met with the fury swipes of the Captain, who sent me reeling back. Its haunting red eyes, entirely consumed by SIVA, glared at me, paralysed me for a brief movement, until my senses gathered back together and I refocused.

Soon more Splicers flooded the area, overtaking the Hive's ground, leaving only us in the equation.

Paledon was currently incinerating a few Dregs with his steel fists, which sent them to oblivion, whereupon he ducked then kicked a charging blade-wielding Vandal, before turning around and blasting another with a shotgun shell, sending it crashing into a wall. The force of impact was enough to leave chunks of concrete flying. Then, with absolute focus and precision, he scoped through his scout rifle and destroyed the distant Shanks wrecking havoc, giving me the opening I needed.

I vaulted out of cover, then slid in the snow, before equipping my Lord of Wolves; carrying the momentum forward, I unleashed burning shots into the mob of Splicers, who were largely unaffected by the damage. I leapt high in the air, ultimately circumventing the barrage of tracking projectiles, and found comfort by staring in the Void. The enraged sea of purple stormed in the mind as it consumed me with its holy grace; an aura of purple surrounded me, becoming brighter the longer I stole the Void's tithe until it rejected my hunger. I aimed up and a horde of arrows soared, curving down to the flash mob. A labyrinth of tethers disrupted the Splicer's aggravated assault—most of them flinched and were slowed by the tainted magic of the Void.

Paledon followed it up with a few rockets, forcing the ultimate destruction of the horde. Terrible cries screeched through the haunted grounds of the Rocketyard as Vandals and Dregs fell to their death, leaving pockets of SIVA in their wake; but the Captain remained resolute, enraged by the loss of his brethren. He brandished his weapon and convoked more reinforcements. A few Servitors showed up to the battleground, and they would surely be enough to aid their greater in battle. The beast of a thousand arms roared and laughed manically, teleporting above us and casting a barrier of red, protecting him from all damage sources. The Captain began summoning SIVA nodes, granting his reinforcements overshields.

"I'll take em all out, you kill the Servitors!" Paledon said, plucking the pins of his grenades and tossing them in the air before running headstrong and destroying the twining towers of SIVA.

"I'm on it!" I said, jumping in the air, then landing with a graceful somersault. "Vandals incoming!"

A trio of Vandals, armed with Scorch Cannons, ripped me a new reality as explosive bombs lobed their way to me. I was sent flying back on impact, my back hitting a rusted train. I recovered as quickly as possible, then ran toward them, rapidly dodging left and right, before stabbing one through the chest, then retrieving its cannon. I ran into a giant concrete sewer pipe to seek cover, but only for a second, whereupon I leapt back into the fray. I double-jumped up to a catwalk and opened fire while running, but I was caught off guard by an invisible Vandal posted at the end of the walkway; he pushed me off, but I slowed my fall by stabbing my knife into the brick wall. Focusing, I closed in my aim and stuck the other Scorch Vandals, instantly evaporating into a cloud of orange.

I retraced my steps and took down the Servitors with ease. They dropped numerous charges, bombs to be exact, and I picked one of them up. Weighed it under influence. The voices within the red jewel spoke to me, I could hear them. Eerie dark whispers of this nanotech injected itself into my mind. It was as real as I could possibly get.

Then, not wanting the voices to stop, Paledon tried to snap me out of confusion as he combated a group Exploder Shanks that sped their way in. Explosions roaring through the snowy battleground, littered with Fallen bodies and sheet metal, shook me back to life. I was holding n unstable charge now, its mass severely widened and about to explode in my grasp. I tossed it at the Captain's barrier, which shattered, casting a disk of SIVA to wash over the area.

The Captain fell to the ground and retaliated back in his last stand. A spiral of nanites appeared with a wave of his hand and was absorbed—forewarning the enhanced nature of an enraged barbarian. Chilling laughs roared through our forms as the Captain gained an overshield of SIVA—resulting in full immunity. He opened concentrated blasts of shrapnel, forcing the both of us to seek cover. "The charges," I shouted, popping in and out to try and take out a group of sword-bearing Vandals advancing toward us. They flinched by the sheer volumes of fire, then were sent flying by Paledon's grenades. Splicers were running out of a wall-breach a little ways away, behind the sewer pipes. "I'll go, you cover me!"

Paledon was reloading his machine gun, the bandoleer being placed on the weapon's mantle. "Go, I got you!"

Effortlessly, I vaulted out of cover and used some Void Light to project a barrier of Light to nullified the onslaught of explosive grenades being hauled at me. The implosion unleashed a harmless wave of energy that further saturated the area with SIVA: Tendrils jetted from the ground, flailing violently, and they tried to grab my ankles and suppress me; I destroyed them with a vortex grenade, continuing to run like hell, using my lightning speed to dodge everything being thrown at me. Jumping over debris and the dead bodies, I rolled forward then disrupted the flood of Splicers once again.

The charges were becoming greatly unstable the longer they were exposed by the frozen earth. The jewels were expanding recklessly, abiding by the aimless directives they were given.

I slid in the snow, kicking up dust and debris to blind a Vandal, then quickly stood before punching it in the face, whereupon I immediately turned around and threw a knife at a Dreg's head before he had the chance to slice me. I whipped out my sidearm, killing the Vandal with a few rapid taps, then equipped my Boomer to disrupt the masses. The group of Splicers staggered under my wild siege and they eventually fell to Paledon's excellent coverage.

I hurled myself toward, grabbing a charge, then weighed it in my grasp; but before I had the chance to chuck it, a Vandal disarmed me of my prize and thwacked me with its rifle. I was sent flying back, sliding across the snowy ground. The unrelenting force was unlike anything I had felt before as searing pain burned me, like magma, both inside and out; it felt like the cold was negated by the fiery agony. My back struck a train cart and the pain grew tenfold. Nothing but ringing filled my head as the Splicers slowly approached, weapons pointed at me and ready to fire. I, too feeble to get back up or react accordingly, brushed a hand through the snow; all I could do was watch as the enemy was ready to take me out.

Then a fury of a thousand suns engulfed the scene, molten embers shattering into tracking pieces that incinerated the entire mob of Vandals and Shanks, towering over me, into a cloud of Solar; the flaming Titan then threw a fervent barrage of hammers at the Captain, but even his wrath was surpassed by the Light. The shield was taken out and Paledon's fiery form dwindled back to normal as he landed. Paledon and the Captain ran headstrong toward each other and engaged in a gruesome fight. The Fallen commander tried to strike the Titan down with a swift pummel, but he ducked and kicked the Captain with such power it sent him crashing right beside me. The Captain recovered like the blow was nothing and teleported to him, before unleashing burning shrapnel from his launcher; though despite the valiant efforts, all of it was negated by Paledon's safeguard of Void coating his form.

The Captain roared in frustration, as he continued to fire because that's all he could do. Devoid of reinforcements, he was beginning to feel cornered. He tried to convoke his followers but no help came.

Paledon's stride across the bloody battleground was steadfast as his shield absorbed all that negative energy. He quickly picked up speed, his armour rustling over the blazing blasts of Solar, and leapt high in the air and, with absolute precision, crashed into the ground—leaving a crater in his wake. Atop the commander, he pummelled him with his steel fists, then lifted the Captain over his shoulders before slamming him into the ground. "Rusted junk," he said to himself as the Captain was left in despair. Sparks flew from his destroyed tech. "You Fallen never learn."

The Captain was doing his best to take a last stand, but Paledon finished the job with a tap of his sidearm. The Titan scurried to me, then extended an arm for me to grab. "You good? Took quite the hit," he said.

With indomitable strength, I pulled myself up, doing my best not to collapse. "Yeah, I should be good," I said, holding my head. "The ringing, it won't stop. Fuck."

"Tough sons of bitches, huh?" Paledon said, and moved over to the Captain's corpse to find something useful. "Never seen anything like this. Taken is one thing, but this…" Paledon looked at me. "This is something else altogether."

The pain was still burning the blaze of a star within, but I pushed through it. "The Fallen must have a line of commanders to dispatch attacks of this scale. Mingling with the Hive…now that's asking for trouble."

Paledon pulled ether tanks, its contents filled with SIVA, from the Captain's suit. "We were lucky to stop in on time. Hunter, look at this."

I crouched and took a look.

"They're stripping their need for ether."

"Which means the Splicers are trying to make themselves immortal. They're trying to become machines."

"I think they've already achieved that," Paledon replied, holding a tank in his hand.

"So now what?" I asked.

"Not sure," he said. "But I do know this. We gotta fight like hell if we want any chance at winning this war." He tossed the ether tank away and stood. "Let's look around and see what we can find. There has to be something the Fallen left behind to tell us more on what they're planning."

I nodded. "Good idea. Let's split up and cover more ground."

"Page me if you find anything, brother."

"Same to you."

He nodded and trailed back the way we came.

I brought Ro out of her dimension. "You good?"

"Yes, I'm just fine," Ro said, her voice softer than usual. "The question is are you fine?"

"Sore, but I'll live. Could you do a wide scan of the area for anything useful?"

"On it."

As I waited, freezing rain began to fall.

This was going to be a long, dreaded search.


	2. ii - Nothing to Near

ii - Nothing to Near - watch?v=dACiLPSGdUA

* * *

 _The Rocketyard,_

 _Old Russia, Earth_

* * *

Eerie

The freezing rain hadn't subsided since our fight ended with that dreaded Captain two hours ago. Although it was light rainfall, it had proved to be a burden to Paledon and me, trying to look for what the Fallen possibly left behind, as we ploughed our way through the ice and snow accumulation. There were at least two feet of snow impeding our way through, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle.

There was a lot of ground to cover, to say the least, and two hours wasn't even enough time.

Though as much as I hated being out here currently, the Rocketyard brought back many memories of my past. In fact, this was the place where Orion and I first encountered each other. A few months after my Ghost found me in the Jungles of Venus, I was assigned to patrol this area for any major threats, and Orion had the same task. At the time, we were purple lone wolves, but that didn't stop us from helping each other. Word got out that a major Servitor (for the House of Kings) was dispatched to distribute ether amongst its house. Orion and I eliminated the target before it reached its drop point. It was at that pivotal moment when he and I decided to levy in a fireteam together and form our own.

There was a reason I never stepped foot in the Rocketyard unless I had to like now. The place often drowned me in memories I refused to recollect, out of fear that it would haul me into the past, someplace that wasn't for me. But knowing that I had Paledon by my side made it easier for me; if I had gone alone, there would be many detours and reminisces of the past.

Paledon and I rendezvous at the wall breach, a wide opening leading to the interior of a facility. Inside were ruined control panels with smashed monitors, and thick red wires trailed alongside the walls of the structure. A staircase was to my right and there was a corridor to my left that should lead to the Plaguelands. "So," I said, giving Paledon a glance. "This is the place?"

"Yep," he said as he trotted his way in, not paying special attention to me. As much as I hate to say this, Paledon was different on the field. More serious and self-focused on the mission. I couldn't blame the guy, but sometimes humility went a long way. "Over here."

I gaited over a bundle of wires, being careful of my footing. "What you got?"

"Pathernax said the Plaguelands are this way. That corridor will lead to a place called Foundry 113. Then the Lord's Watch. He's waiting for us to show up."

"The Plaguelands isn't a place I want to be," I said, followed by a snicker.

"You and I both. Then again." He thought for a second. "I'd rather be here than on the Dreadnaught."

"Fair enough," I replied. "Enough chit-chat, though. Fan out and see if we can find anything. Maybe what we're looking for is in here, this room."

"Alrighty then."

We covered the small expanse rather quickly and found nothing tangible, but there were the array of monitors suspended on the wall. I motioned my way to them, wondering if there were any logs on what the Fallen were up to. "Ro, scan the terminal and collect any logs you find."

"Understood," Ro said, then went to work.

"Paledon, did Pathernax or Kabril scan this terminal for any info?"

"I don't believe so, no," he said making his way to me. "I don't see how it'll help us through. We already know enough about what's going on. What makes you so certain there's anything useful on there anyway?"

"An instinctual hunch. I had to learn to survive in the Jungles of Venus for a month. Intel was my best friend. This will be too."

For the next ten minutes, Paledon and I leaned against the computer terminals, our arms crossed, patiently waiting if there was anything Ro could scrounge up.

A click, followed by a high-pitched beep sent both Paledon and me jouncing. The monitors lit up and displayed a flashing SIVA symbol with white noise in the background. "I got some logs you might want to check out later," Ro said, moving to me. "According to one of them, there are red clusters scattered throughout the Plaguelands that could help us greatly understand SIVA. It might be worthwhile to spend time looking for them. Consider it a scavenger hunt."

I patted Paledon on the shoulder. "See, what'd I tell you? Now let's get a move on."

For the next little while, Paledon and I were quiet and reticent as we journeyed our way through the corridor, consisting of a suspended metal catwalk—which was lined with rusted cylinder tanks. The sheer weight of our gait cost us though as I got caught in the fall.

Scrapping metal screeched, deafening me temporarily as the catwalk split apart. The ground felt like it shook as some power rose in the next area, washing the entire lands under its vast influence. I quickly grabbed my knife and jammed I in the now bent catwalk and held onto dear life. I was dangling above a spiky trap below.

Paledon rushed over and his weight further tilted the catwalk. "Hold on, I'll getcha!"

I let out a nervous chuckle. "Why must you Titans always be so heavy?"

"Shut up and take my hand," Paledon said, lying prone on the catwalk. "This isn't a date, c'mon."

I looked down. "I'd rather go with the spikes than go on a date with you."

"Clock's tickin'."

A sigh. I ripped my knife from the metal rings holding the platform together and Paledon grabbed me in the nick of time. "My knight in shining armour has saved me! Bless you."

Paledon pulled me up with his brute strength and brought me to safety. "You need to work on your jokes."

We advanced forward, crawling through an opening of warped metal, which brought forth Foundry 113. We were standing on a collapsed concrete bridge. There were shipment containers everywhere and some of them had the SIVA symbol plastered unto them. There was a huge machine gateway that had an orange core in the centre, and a metal stage leads upward to it; but currently, it appeared to be sealed, inaccessible.

Oh, and the rain and snow hadn't stopped.

Splicers inhabited the area, but they weren't a threat as of yet. Many of them were docile and dormant as if they were being commanded by something or someone. Paledon and I jumped down from the bridge and landed in the snow.

I signalled him to follow my lead. "Be gingerly. The Fallen are easily scared."

Paledon paid no attention to my antics and said, "Pathernax, we're at Foundry 113, what's your status?"

There was a long appending silence hanging over us, like the rain that tapped gently against the metal shipment containers. That was the only medley we could bear.

Then something came through. "I'm in the Lord's Watch." Static took over for a moment. "There's a ton of Splicers here." Gunfire. "They have a spider tank enhanced by SIVA. We need help!"

The comms went dark.

"We have to hurry, brother," Paledon said. "Lead the way."

I sprinted for the nearest piece of cover, a metal shipment container. Without back padded against it, I peeked around the corner and noticed a Vandal on patrol. "We got a couple tangos at 3 o'clock. Wire Rifles." I veered my stare over to the left and noticed a higher ground we could jump up to. "We can get around by jumping up there."

Without saying anything else, I tossed a smoke bomb at our feet, causing us to go invisible. I jumped up to the higher ground, and Paledon followed suit. His Titan Lift alerted the surrounding Fallen, and they directed their attention to us. But no matter! They couldn't see us. Luckily, for both of us, I had made very concentrated smoke bombs for longer invisibility duration. If my craftsmanship was any good, we would be invisible for at least two more minutes.

"Let's go," I said, jumping into a shipping container that was open and suspended by some crane. I slide out the other side and landed on the ground as did Paledon. We ran for the opening in the wall with warped metal along the iron-hot edges.

We ran through the opening, leading into another corridor, not breaking stride; at some point, we had to crouch and keep our head low as the warped beams and collapsed infrastructure inside was to our height. Being knocked out was the least of our priories right now.

According to my tactical visor in my helmet, we reached the Lord's Watch. In front of us was a big metal tube, and in the distance was a small bronze-coloured building. We headed for the stumpy structure and saw Pathernax, donned in sweeping black robes with his Obsidian Mind, teleport past projectiles that were trying to track him in the air.

The Warlock teleported to the upper airspace and unleashed three rockets from his launcher; mini explosions rocked the battleground as they imploded, putting a severe dent in the Fallen's numbers.

As we reached the threshold of the building, Pathernax noticed us by paying us a quick glance then quickly returning fire to whatever was trying to kill him. I glanced over to my left and noticed a devastatingly enhanced Spider Tank augmented by SIVA. These things were destructive and were a huge threat to anyone patrolling. I mean, they're a tank with eight legs, armed with a deadly cannon with lock-on missiles, and a mini-turret on its front.

There was a Captain and some Vandals overseeing their assault.

Pathernax teleported his way to us, as we sought behind the small building for cover. There were glassless windows, which didn't help since enemy fire could easily pass through them. "Oh, no!" I shouted over the gunfire, as a flurry of bombs were hurled our way. "Get down now!" Instantly, I projected a Void barrier, a sphere of purple completely encapsulating me. Drawing powers from deep within, I absorbed the barrage and, as my arms remained crossed across my chest, released the surge of energy. An explosion erupted through all quarters and snow and dust covered the entire battleground. Fire patches were flashing as the Fallen continued to advance with their augmented tank. The rest of the crew joined me in retaliation fire. "Where the hell is Kabril?" I shouted, running forth, disarming a Vandal then killing it. I opened fire with a Shock Rifle before finding comfort in my siege.

"Scouting the rest of the Plaguelands for intelligence and mappings," Pathernax said, following in my footsteps. "I thought she would've returned by now, but I guess I was fallacious. Look, can we converse later? Right now, we have a major situation on our hands and it is imperative we—"

"Quiet!" Paledon shouted as his Thunderlord sent exploding bullets of electricity. A static charge was building up above the snow; small clouds began to storm and thunder under the area of influence and discharged violent explosions, displacing the first line.

Meanwhile, I used a smoke bomb for invisibility, leapt to the rooftop, then turned around, armed with my weapon. I jumped down, meeting the snow again. The tank was idle, waiting for its next target, its prey, so it could lock onto it and destroy it with impressive, cataclysmic firepower. Though their insect-like design gives them an eerie, almost lifelike quality, these heavily-armoured monstrosities are purely robotic, not self-controlled. It had a mind of its own. These things even had a mine dispensers to provide close defence against dismounted infantry, and an on-board Shank foundry produces armed repair drones.

Exposure caused me to alert the nearby Fallen, their weapons readying to be fired at me. For some odd reason, I began to ponder the reasoning as to why the Fallen deployed a Fallen Walker here, of all places. The spider tank moved its many legs in unison, moving its long barrel at me. Behind it was a devastating cannon charging up, no doubt at me. I shadestepped to the side, dodging the projectiles trying to kill me; had I not moved, I would've been eradicated, much like the burnt splotches in the cold ground; I retaliated by opening violent bursts of rotting Arc at the tank, which dealt considerable damage but not quite enough. The spider tank was still, as were its smaller brethren; the Captain and Vandals were stepping up, their weapons drawn, ready to fire; but despite their impressive arsenal, I lanced upward, ultimately evading my assailant's second onslaught, then met the ground once more.

The Vandals didn't go down without a fight, though as many of them were still standing after the barbarous treatment I presented them so thinking fast and masterfully, I switched to Lord of Wolves, once again. The weapon was a fountain of merits, a familiar friend who helped me conquer so many threats in the past. I brandished it and charged headstrong, dodging left and right, and opened fire. The rumbling roar of the weapon sent a sense of satisfaction through my very body, giving me a better understanding of my purpose. I stared into the Void and charged up some more Vortex Grenades and chucked them at the group; the singularity of the grenade drew the Vandals closer to its core, causing them to repeatedly stagger, their efforts to escape proving to be vain, much like the event horizon of a black hole.

Still, however, the rising towers of SIVA summoned by the terrible machines, enhanced their combat capabilities and negated my grenades. On primal instinct, I cloaked myself, a heap of purple smoke trailing behind me as I hid in the shadows. Upon reaching my crew, I unleashed a burst of Solar from my Lord of Wolves, bursts piercing through the Captain, inflicting heavy damage on the tortured soul, though he still didn't go down without a fight. There was red matter, little bits of SIVA around, forming a protective shield. A red spiral of energy was absorbed by him, causing his vitality to recover. Our target became enraged.

The Captain had brandished his weapon, and the spider tank reignited itself, its legs moving in unison once more, and directing its awesome firepower at us, but Paledon had summoned Light from the Void and deployed a massive dome of purple flames. "This will protect us for now."

"How do you expect us to kill such a monstrosity?" Pathernax asked, chucking a few Scatter Grenades (they broke up into smaller particles that cause small explosions) at the tank. "We're severely lacking on firepower here."

"No, we are not," Paledon said, exiting his bubble to unleash a few rockets at the tank. "We strike together, using our Light. It's our only chance!"

Pathernax and I nodded, but he said, "Let me prime the fight, after that you guys come in."

"We got your back," I said with a severe focus-fire. My loud, barbarous shots were sublimely accurate and concentrated, discharging in long beads rather than a few bursts. "I ain't reloadin' anytime soon!"

Instantly Pathernax condensed into a glass ball, vanishing and bending the laws of physics completely. He appeared on the battlefield, unscathed for now. His sweeping robes blew in the wind of battle, and he stepped forth to the mass of Splicers. He applied a projected barrier of Void around him, nullifying all the projectiles homing his way. Even the tank's firepower was unmatched by his resilience. The explosion earthquaked the grounds, shifting the planes, as Pathernax stood unscathed and unmoving, his robes perpetually blowing. He warped from Splicer to Splicer and served them with rapid shots of his Matador-64 shotgun, doing its best to clear the path. At some point, he grabbed a Vandal by the throat and teleported to the skies, then jammed several scatter grenades down its suit before hauling it straight down; a meteor shower of Void rained from the heavens, mini-explosions evaporating the group of Splicers into a cloud of purple. Pathernax landed, a violet aura outlining his form. "Falter to my team's wrath!" he shouted over the charging tank. "Your hold is no more!"

The Warlock opened pristinely accurate fire with his scout rifle, taking out the newly oncoming Exploder Shanks, forcasting a vibrant chain-explosion disrupted the Splicer's hold momentarily, giving us the time we needed to strike. Paledon and I followed suit and we unloaded our firepower on the enraged Captain. The SIVA shield proved to be resilient. "Hunter, use your Light!"

I stared into the Void without fear. With a calm mind, I drew the immense powers from the Void, from the endless, vast space of nothingness. I wanted more than what was normally granted. A massive influx of power coursed through me, sending chills down my spine. My hand wielded a bow of Void.

"Strike now!" Pathernax said, his sword ready. A glistening sparkle shimmered from the tip of the blade and fiery projectiles blazed alight, then cut through the nearly impenetrable metal; orange-glowing cuts heavily damaged the tank's armour.

With an arrow on the bowstring, I drew it back then released. The arrow traversed in the air and struck the Captain, stupefying him. A network of tethers formed, crisscrossing the masses. Paledon and I walked forward with our weapons and unmercifully struck the Captain and his minions to the ground. His head was blown off—sending SIVA up in the air like an erupting volcano. A tracking orb homed in on us, but I shot it down. For a moment, we revered in the Captain's valiant attempt to strike us down; and although he failed with a noble conscience, his efforts were not in vain. These highly enhanced Fallen were not easy to smite.

Pathernax was blinking everywhere, in and out of space itself, but the spider tank had been locking onto him unmercifully. For a second, he blinked again but stayed in the air this time; a discharge of purple erupted from his core as he remained airborne, whereupon a veil of purple surrounded his form and he begins calling upon the Void. Pathernax brought both his hands together, one over, one under, and I felt a roaring surge of energy course through the frozen earth. A massive ball of Void Light began to take shape, starting small, then enlarging within seconds; the ball appeared like someone had ripped a piece of space and mixed it with the powers of the Void. The unstable mass pulsated with absolute pulchritude as it was hurled through the air, its trajectory curving and naturally finding its target. The bomb exploded brilliantly with the force of a collapsing neutron star—in a huge flash of pure, purple light.

I covered my face to block the bright flash of white light and the violent blowing snow. Paledon did too. But Pathernax stood still, weapon drawn, his vestments blowing in the wind. As the explosion dissipated, the spider tank became visible once more. It was still standing, getting ready to fire its next barrage of attacks. But there was something divergent about it. One of its legs appeared to be severely weakened as if damaging it would cause it to collapse and— "Impossible!" Pathernax shouted. He looked right at us. "How is that possible?!"

"We don't know," I said. "But look at its leg. It's weakened. If we take it out, we might just have a shot at taking this thing out."

"Let's do it," Paledon said. "It's our best shot, yeah?"

We stormed forward, directing all-out firepower at the weakened leg. Some of us chucked a few grenades for good measure, though it was hardly necessary. Soon the spider tank faltered, and the armour casing its front left leg blew off. Its orange core was exposed, giving us the chance to wipe it out.

We unloaded on it.

Nothing but automatic fire rocked the battleground.

Last minute reinforcements flooded the grounds, trying to salvage their tank, but they were too late to the party. I kept all the Vandals and Dregs in check with my Boomer while maintaining a good damage rate on the tank. "It's working," I said between shots. "Just a little more…" The spider tank proved to be an extreme challenge, but it wasn't anything my team couldn't pull off. The tank discharged a catastrophic Arc wave and screeched contorting metal, sending us flying back in recoil. Pieces of metal flew everywhere as a result of its destructive demise.

"Get down!" Pathernax shouted.

I was still focused on the reinforcements and didn't see the flying piece of sheet metal that struck me.

The last thing I saw was snow falling from the sky and my team trying to overcome the fresh reinforcements. 

* * *

_Ishtar Cliffs_

 _Ishtar Sink, Venus_

 _(In the Jungles of Venus)_

* * *

The humidity of Venus was unbearable and stifling. The night air was thick with hanging dew, and every breath was like breathing in a thousand anvils. The little light piercing through the thick atmosphere reflected off the glistening beads of dew that hung from the tips of verdant, dense vegetation that surrounded Orion and I. Rainfall was a continuous affair, hence why it was so humid. The Jungles and Vex architecture were what made this place so beautiful: From the literal sky-high citadels to the overly dense jungles that made it difficult to traverse through, and even the acidic lakes, along with the active volcanos on the faraway shores. The eerie screeches you'd hear from Vex haunted these ground with a precious wonder. The birthplace of me, Venus would always be my home.

Currently, Orion and I were blending into the dense jungle, with the help of ghillie suits Eva Levante crafted for us. We were patrolling an area dominated by the Fallen as word had gotten out that a major Baron for the House of Wolves was going to show himself. The reasoning as to why was unknown to us, but then again, anything was possible with the House of Wolves. The massive clan, once reputable for their madness and judgement, was nothing but a distant memory, their numbers heavily decreased from the bloodshed we Guardians took when Skolas went insane. Overruled by Orion and I, with the help of others, the beast of a thousand eyes was overpowered and forcibly captured by the Reef.

The mission we were assigned was simple: Take out the Baron and his goons, then flee.

I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind killing the Baron since Skolas was already captured and sentenced to the Prison of Elders, leaving the House of Wolves without a Kell. The house was disjointed and almost disbanded completely. But there was a lingering hunch telling me that might not be the case. Still, I peeked through my binoculars, zooming in and observing the meeting. And as we crawled through the dense grass, we spotted a Skiff ripping through the atmosphere. "Hey," Orion said. He was a Hunter, like me, and wore the armour Variks crafted for us. "Look over there. The Baron."

I looked through Orion's Wire Riflescope; raindrops stuck to the lens and streaked along the glass. He had gotten the thing from some dead Vandal awhile ago. "I see him. I still don't understand why we can't drop this. I don't see a reason for killing him."

Orion looked at me, emotionless and blankly. "Because we should? The House of Wolves were so much trouble. We should take out their lieutenants before they pull off another trick of theirs."

From what I could tell, the Wolf Baron was speaking with a Baron from the House of Winter, the main Fallen House that occupied the Ishtar Sink. "Is that?"

"Yeah," Orion said, moving a tad closer for a better look. "My best guess is that the Wolf Baron wants security from the House of Winter."

"Pfft," I puffed. "The House of Winter is as disjointed as them. In fact, didn't they overtake the House of Winter?"

"Yeah, they did," he said without a moment's pause. "Stay on guard. Remember our purpose here."

I nodded and focused at the task at hand. "Target is exactly three-hundred and thirty-seven metres away. Take the shot?" I lined up the crosshairs to my own rifle, one that was given to me by the Tower. Some field-excursion weapon type, designed for specific tasks. It was called the Marble. Never thought it had much use up until now. But as I waited patiently in the consuming silence, I started to subconsciously shake as time was running out. My finger was on the trigger, and ready to take the shot. "It's all you. Do I take the shot or not? I have to know." No response. "Orion!"

Orion gave off a breath of relief. "Maybe you're right. We should leave the Baron alone. The House of Wolves has already been through hell. How about we show them some mercy for once?"

"I like it when you listen to me," I said, followed by silly laughs.

"Great, now that'll give me time to show you what I found out here. C'mon."

For the next little while, we tore through the dense jungles with a machete, which we found laying around on some workshop bench in one of the facilities in the Shattered Coast. The downpour of acid rain waxed in heaviness and yellow lightning shimmered aloft, while distant peals of thunder roared through the cities of Venus and massive Citadel the Vex masterminded. The clouds in the sky appeared ill, suffocated by the immense pressure of gasses in the heavens; but it was these heavens that lit our path through the foliage, rich with Spirit Blooms and other useful planetary materials. Mossy rocks and fallen, rotting tree tucks brought us to temples, though they were completely covered by vines and twine. Dead Vex constructs, covered in moss and exposure to acid rain, stood as a testament to their domain, but they were lifeless and not a threat.

But the more we pushed through this jungle, the more I felt at unease. It felt like we had been traversing through here for days, even weeks, but I knew we weren't here longer than an hour. It was like time itself had perished under the jungle's wrath, leading us to one path, and then another. We came across the same temples over and over, and yet we still vouched to push through the large leaves and rocks. A river flowed gently in a ravine, where the sky was visible, just this once; the cloud-filled skies brought more acid rain, burning us and the beauty of the groundcover that spanned over the facades of ruined temples, new ones, that crossed our fate. The songs of birds and other wildlife that inhabited these ground put me at ease, though Orion was ploughing through it like it was nothing.

We pushed through a fan of giant leaves and found ourselves standing on a stone threshold, with a stairwell leading up. The facade of the ancient temples sparked all sorts of wonder as mystery and discoveries were waiting to be unearthed. And yet, there was a peculiar sense of distraught that what lied in that temple would be dark and haunting. "This is an ancient site the Vex used to use," Orion said, picking up a rock and throwing it at one of the statues. The hunk of metal fell and shattered like glass. "Now it's ours and no one else's."

"You like to spoil me, huh?" I said, between peals of laughter. "This is ridiculous, you know that right?"

And as we ascended these silver stairs, I felt like I was being watched by something, though not quite sure what. The air became dense and heavy. There were sparkles of white beginning to form, similar when one stands near Vex platforms. A floating white orb ripped through the fabric of time, creating a wormhole that appeared right in front of us, then vanishing shortly after. Orion was gazing over the orb; at first, though, I assumed it was another one of his tricks, but this had to be a reaction of some sorts. He was studying it with immense intensity, one that Orion would normally reserve for something truly special. But this was weird, not interesting. I was on edge now—my shaking making a comeback.

My eyes followed the white orb, where it pulled itself toward the top of the stairs. "Well, c'mon, this is something, right?"

Upon reaching the top, we found ourselves in a wide expanse, where a massive Well hummed with pure potential. Streams of golden light radiated from the pool, though the entire thing was blocked off by a Vex barrier. The white orb went through it, but nothing happened. Instead, it dwindled, turning black, then rolled to us. Orion stepped up close to it, then picked it up. "It was us to take its challenge."

"And what does that mean exactly?" I asked, followed by a laugh. "You look like a kid who lost candy."

Orion looked at me. "This is our calling, dear brother. This is what I have been looking for many years."

"What is it?" I asked, more curious than I was mere moments ago.

"It's the Well of Memories. An ancient relic that many have considered lost. You see, dear brother, that jungle we went through was a simulation to test how determined and iron-willed we really are. Once you step in, there's no getting out until you find this temple. Only a few have dared to find this place, because of the severe transgression." Orion paced around, not paying special attention to the luminous well behind. Instead, he was laser-focused on me and proved it with his snickers. "I have spent many years mapping out the simulation jungle. Once I hacked into the Vex network at a conflux…getting the true coordinates was easy."

"I don't understand," I said simply, though the mind sparked wonder in aimless directions. "What does this all mean?"

"It means we can view the past memories of any living soul that contains our essence," Orion said, as he dropped the relic-like nothing and grabbed his knife. The black orb rolled in the tall blades of grass before stopping.

"And what is our purpose here?"

"We're going on an adventure to unlock this power. I won't be here forever, dear brother." Orion unequipped his right gauntlet and sliced open his palm. Red blood oozed out and dripped on the side of his hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my body shaking once again. Chills paralysed me as my brother was talking madness, though I knew he was much smarter than that. "Tell me."

Orion materialised a small glass vial in his grasp. The frail vessel shone under the dull beams of light that shafted through the cracks in the temple. The crimson liquid glistened too as if it were merely the raw essence of Venus. He filled the vial, then sealed it with his own Light. Orange flames consumed his form, and a combustion of embers erupted from the vial, further enchanting it to inexplicable beauty. When the flames died like a star, he said, "Keep this with you, always. These contain my memories. Any new ones I make from here on will still be contained in this vessel. I want you to keep my memory alive, Hunter. You'll be in this galaxy far longer than I ever will."

I was shaking, unable to form anything cognitive let alone expressive. When I mustered enough courage, and after calming myself down, I said, but without contesting, "How the hell do we go from taking out a Baron to this? You're an absolute nut." Orion was standing still, vial still in his grasp, but gave it to me. "Listen," I said, then clearing my throat, "I know why we're really here. And I know you're serious, and I will keep your memory alive, but…I don't want this power. It may be your purpose to get it, but it's not mine. You just want me to help you, isn't that right?"

Orion looked away as if he were ashamed for tricking me into something ingenue. "Yeah, I baited you here because of my own selfish desires. But I really do need your help. My information about this Well is limited. I still haven't found a way to unlock it yet. Which is why I need you, brother."

I sat on a nearby mossy rock without thinking it. "Remember when we first met, a few years ago? Back in the Rocketyard. You told me that I had a problem with stealing Fallen caches because of what I witnessed them do to the Guardian I saved?"

Orion moved over to me, and if I had to guess, had a smile on his face. "Yeah, I remember," he said blissfully. Happiness seemed to radiate from him. "You saved that Warlock like it was nothing. Most would fail. Going up against the Devils isn't easy, but you prevailed."

I thought pensively but only for a few seconds, before saying, "I'll help you unlock this power. But I cannot help but think that isn't my purpose."

"You can always make it yours," he said. "I should've been more forthcoming with you."

"Why weren't you?"

"Because I thought you would reject my pleas. This power is not something you can gain overnight, nor across the span of months. This is one of the Vex's most cherished burial site. It will take some time before we get ahold of its true potential."

"I'll do it. But only because I swore to always be there for you when you need me. Besides…" I trailed off and picked up the black orb. "How hard can it be to charge this relic?"

Orion took it from my hold. "It won't be easy, but I like your willingness. You will be blessed with something great, I promise."

With that, we stayed at the Well, wondering how to charge the relic and unlock this ancient power.

* * *

 _The Lord's Watch,_

 _Plaguelands, Earth_

* * *

My mind was fuzzy. Unclear. It pounded harder than a drummer would on a set of drums. As my vision swam into focus, the material world slowly synchronised from the once metaphysical world my distortion rendered. At one point, I had to shut my eyes from the bright light that was coming from my left. Eventually, I braced myself for a piercing pain in my eyes, though I used a hand to block out the light.

Soon, when my vision fully recovered, my eye caught sight of Paledon and Pathernax sitting next to a lit firepit, in some burrowed cave.

"You're finally awake….again," Pathernax said, a smile on his face. "Welcome back to the real world."

"Heh, thanks," I said, trying to get up from my lying position. "Feel like I'm dying, dear god. Between getting shanked by a Vandal and that tank…not sure I can take another blow."

"You look quite the toll from that tank, Hunter," Paledon said, crawling his way to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and brought me in for a hug. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Gathering my senses and overcoming the vast searing pain again, I said, "Right back at ya, buddy." I repaid the hug. "So, what was that all about?"

"That, my dear friend," Pathernax said with a small orb of purple in his grasp, "was a distraction if I had ever seen one."

"What do you mean?" Paledon asked, moving to the fire for warmth.

"The Splicers are up to something, but what, we don't know yet. That's why Kabril needs to get here and fast."

"But what about—"

"Hey, guys!" a voice in the distance sounded. I could hear heavy breathing too. As if someone got the wind knocked out of them.

"Kabril?" Paledon said. He got up, and undid the seal to the cave, let Kabril in, then sealed the opening once more. "So happy you found us. What's up?"

"The Fallen…" A deep breath. "They have heavy artillery set up in some abandoned military bunker. It'll be impossible to get other Guardians in if we don't take them out."

Kabril was an Awoken Hunter, towering at least six feet tall, she was a force of nature, a Bladedancer always using cloaking abilities to slip past enemies without diving in on the fight. She had joined my fireteam sometime during the Taken War because I needed a recon specialist and more firepower. Although she was part of my fireteam, we didn't often work together, though I did enjoy the time she and I spent on the contrary. Usually she worked with Path as the two had past relations with one another; in fact, it's how Path joined Sabled Sun, too. Nonetheless, I adored her for who she was, given her history. She had conquered many powerful foes in the past, something that had grown into her legend as a Guardian. I had learned much from her during the Taken War—and it was because of her that I was able to better myself in combat.

What could I say, she's been around longer than me.

"So," I said. "What are we going to do?"

"Well…" Kabril unrolled a charcoaled map of the entire Plaguelands. "We need to head north of here, which will lead us to a place called the Bunker Triglav. That'll connect us directly to the Splicer's Battery, where they've set up shop. We need to strike now or else any hope of stopping the Splicers will be lost."

"So what do we do now?" Paledon asked. "Do we all strike or what?"

"No," I said. "We should split up. Cover more ground. Pathernax, you're with me, Paledon and Kabril, you two go collect more information regarding this place." I looked at Paledon. "Tell her what we learnt earlier."

Paledon nodded. "Absolutely."

"We move out at dusk when everything has calmed down a bit."

"Alright," everyone said collectively.

Later that evening, when the crepuscular sky bloomed, we departed from our cave and endeavoured to our respective tasks. The sun was just below the horizon, and shafts of orange light spanned around the collection of cirrostratus and cirrus clouds, setting them ablaze. At some point, the clouds were black and silhouetted by the sun. I was standing on a rocky cliff as I watched the sunset. Pathernax made his way to me, stood by me. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said.

"Oh, yes," he said with grace. "Nothing like it."

Arms crossed, I peered over at him. "You ready?"

"Impeccably ready."

We jumped from the cliff and headed in the direction of the Bunker Triglav. The weather was calmer and more forgiving.

We descended down a roadway, leading to concentre pillars decorated by SIVA tendrils. The howling wind overtook our crunching footsteps as we closed in on our destination. When we actually got to the Bunker Triglav, there was a thin rocket on a launch pad, along with a control tower, bearing a satellite on the roof. There was a facility with giant generators to our right and a huge, closed door to our left. We noticed warfare brewing between Hive and Splicers. "Hive? What are they doing out here?" Pathernax asked.

"Hmm," I mumbled. "How about I go up to them and ask them? I'm sure they'll be willing to hear me out."

"Hey, guys," Pathernax said over the comms, then moving closer to get a better view of the environs.

"Yeah?" Paledon and Kabril said collectively. "What's up? Anything to report?"

"There's Hive activity here in the Bunker Triglav. Did you know anything about this, Kabril?"

"No, I didn't," she said, then static following. Then her voice again. "When I went through there, all I saw were Fallen Splicers. That's it. Nothing more. Though I did see evidence of a nearby nest because of the local Seeders there."

"I think we should exhume whatever's going on there. But later. What do you all think?"

"Sure, it'll be something to consider. We have to strike the Fallen at every possible angle," Paledon said. "The City needs the security. Right now we can't risk contesting what's happening there. Focus on taking out that artillery so we can get air support."

"I'll let Shiro-4 and the Vanguard know," Pathernax said. "Hunter and I will investigate."

"So what do you think we should do, then?" I asked.

"Two options," my old friend said, "we could clear the area or slip past them. Your choice."

Without exchanging another word, I lead Pathernax through the Bunker, using the schematics of the vicinity Kabril had sketched for us. Ro had rendered a copy to my visor so I already know the place well, naturally. The bunker wasn't that large, though it had threats that weren't going to be easy to take down. Hive Knights, Splicer Servitors, and Resilient Captains ruled the grounds, all of which were ruthless foes. They were far from an easy challenge, though they weren't anything we couldn't handle; but when you have all three of them together, it was a death sentence.

Over the barbarous, roaring noises of gunfire, we ran headstrong toward the nearest sight of cover, a snowy rock, albeit it hardly provided ample concealment. We squatted down, keeping a low profile, and when the coast was clear, advanced with unmatched speed. When we were underneath the launch pad, I placed my back against the concrete wall, my steps quite and precise. There was a Vandal firing at a group of Acolytes, but none took notice of us. I crouched for a moment, gathering my composure, then whispered, "I'm going to scout the control tower. See if there is any intel or anything we can use to our advantage. Stay low, and stay out of sight."

Pathernax nodded, crouched, and stayed put.

I cloaked myself with a smoke bomb, clouds of purple smoke trailing behind me, rushed up a short flight of stairs, double jumped my way up, then made my way up the control tower. I grabbed my suppressed sidearm and knife from my belt and readied it for a quick stealth kill if it ever came to that. As I ascended the stairs to the top of the tower, where there were multiple glassless windows, a Vandal caught my sight; luckily it was opening fire at a distant enemy and didn't take notice to my presence.

Crouch walking, I threw my knife in the air, sending it spinning, then caught its handle. Sneaking up, I executed a disarming kick, sending the Vandal's weapon flying, then muffled its cries with a hand before driving my knife through its torso, silencing it. My blade pierced through its tough armour and within a matter of seconds…dead. "Ro," I said, stowing my blade, "check for any logs on these terminals."

"Will do."

"What's this…?" In the corner of a computer terminal, there was a red glowing fragment. "Ro, scratch that, scan this instead."

"Scanning now."

I took a watch of the entire bunker, taking notice of more Hive flooding the area. Thrall and Wizards worked jointly to defend their nests, striking in unison at the group of unwavering Splicers, who summoned SIVA nodes along with tendrils ejecting from the frozen earth. They latched onto the Hive, ultimately destroying them into a heap of ashes. Even the entities of the Darkness were unable to overcome the vaunted powers of SIVA. That notion genuinely scared me—my heart racing and my Light levels becoming naturally overcharged as a result. Not once during my service as a Guardian had I seen the Fallen be the victor over the Hive—at least to my knowledge. All that stood between us and getting support into the Plaguelands were Splicers. Nothing more nor less.

As I remained crouched to keep a low profile, before I knew it, Ro had collected valuable intel. "These are the dormant SIVA clusters I was talking about earlier. I got a log about the Clovis Bray Complex. Would you like to hear it now?"

"Later," I replied, reloading my sidearm, the old clip tossed on the rusted ground. "Right now we have to stop the Splicers from using those weapon systems."

"Right," she said, moving to me. "I've marked the coordinates on your map by the way."

"Thanks, buddy."

I made my way down to Pathernax who was still, amazingly, alive. "Find anything?"

"Sure did," I said. A SIVA cluster. Something about the Clovis Bray Complex."

"Interesting," Pathernax said. "Did you decipher anything from it?"

"Not yet. We can do that later. For now, let's focus on the task at hand."

With our invisibility refreshed, we ascended a flight of stairs and ran in the direction of the facility with all the generators. There were bundled of snow-covered shipment containers, and even single ones scattered about in the snow. Decaying trees lead us to the massive facility, but by the time we reached it, our invisibility was wearing off, so we compromised our advance. "On me," I said. "Be nimble."

Pathernax nodded.

We both hid behind a rusty generator, humming ever so gently. I peeked around the corner and saw a patrol coming our way, so I said, "Take my hand." With Pathernax in my hold, I lanced up, albeit silently. No sound my made from my endeavour. We were atop the catwalks hanging over the place, and we easily slipped past the group of Fallen, clueless of our presence. But to our luck, the catwalk ran out of the platform and we couldn't advance anymore. I leaned over the railing and said, "Stay here and spot me, wait for my go." There was a Vandal walking the path I had planned to drop down on, so taking a leap of faith I waited. And waited. Until that little creep stepped right into my trap. Instantly, I took a leap of faith, the rush of air slowing my fall, and I landed right on the Vandal, then stabbed him in the back, my hand over his squealing mouth. I dragged its body to the darkness beneath the stairwell. I signalled Pathernax to join me.

We ran up the flight of stairs, putting us on the second level of the facility. Veins of SIVA wires were trailing alongside the walls, too. The entryway leading to our area of interest caught our sight, but there was a red energy barrier blocking the path. "That's not good," I whispered. "Hmm. Ro, got anything that can get this barrier down?"

Ro materialised in front of me. "Yes, I do. There are shield generators around us. Two at most. Look for a tower of SIVA energy, then take them out. That should destabilise the barrier."

Pathernax and I discovered the energy nodes in no time. We were able to destroy them without attracting attention, which was a bonus for us. The entryway lead us a room with flashing overhead lights and an abandoned office in complete ruins. Destroyed computers and a tipped over desk and papers scattered about and with oblong boxes of disturbing size. The infection was already burned into the place as red wires were giving the flashing lights above their influence. We found ourselves in another wide expanse, with one giant generator, leading to another corridor with shipment containers. "This must be the place," I said. "'Splicer Battery.'"

"So what's our move now, Hunter?" Pathernax asked, his head peeping around the corner.

"Disabling the artillery. If we don't, there's no chance for us to get support from other Guardians."

"Should we get Saladin on the line? He could help us big time," Pathernax said. "We need intelligence before we run in, guns blazing."

"Alright, fine. But let me do they talkin'."

"Fine."

"Saladin," I said over the comms. "We're at the Splicer Battery, where they've reactivated ancient artillery weapons. It looks like they've used SIVA to bring them back to life. What do we do to shut them down?"

There was silence hanging in the air for a moment, but then a voice sounded over the comms. "Look for a central SIVA node inside those emplacements! Destroy that and it will break the Fallen's hold on the weapon systems."

"Guardian, it's Shiro. If I didn't know better, I'd say the Splicers were creating a beachhead. Something of this scale could be used against the City. You need to take them out as soon as possible!"

"Got it," I said. Then the comms went silent. "You heard them. Let's strike!"

"Hold on, Hunter," Pathernax said, getting in front of me.

"What is it?"

"Do you really think we can handle this? I mean something to this scale…it's pretty extreme for only two Guardians."

"We've been through a lot, you and I, at least the times we've worked together. This is no different."

"Okay," he said simply.

"Let me lead, and you follow."

Jumping into the fray, there were three heavily armed artillery weapons, enriched by the powers of SIVA. Thick red wires coated the weapons, and tiny red particles danced around the barrel, latching their directive onto them. They were firing munitions, trying to take down the jump ships. When I entered the field of snow, a Fallen Skiff showed itself by ripping through the atmosphere. Fallen Shanks, Dregs, and Vandals were sent down, their warped weapons glowing under SIVA's influence. Red sparkles emitted from the barrels, already charging an amass of energy that would surely penetrate any poorly crafted armour. Without a moment's pause, they unleashed ruthless accurate fire upon me, forcing me to react by jumping behind the nearest piece of cover, a pile of scrap metal.

Pathernax blinked in the air, threw a Scatter Grenade, creating an onslaught on mini explosions, sending most of the Shanks and Dregs to a cloud of the Void. He drilled numerous red shells into his shotgun and slid through the snow, then opened fire on my behalf, taking out the company.

"Careful with those Shanks!" I yelled over the uproarious gunfire while returning fire. "Their SIVA reading are through the roofs!"

"Duly noted!"

Instantly, more Skiffs tore through the skies, dropping off further reinforcements. The ships laid blasts of SIVA bombs toward the Warlock, who negated them with a projected Void barrier. An explosion ruptured through the area, snow and debris flying every which way, though he countered them with a few rockets, destroying the turrets and falling on their own blood. I ran forward and conjured up a few grenades for good measure, though it was hardly necessary since Pathernax wiped all the enemies out before they had a chance to do anything. "We got more incoming!" I shouted. "Path, behind ya!"

A Vandal was charging with a pair of Shock Blades, but Pathernax teleported away before it had the chance to strike him down. Pathernax aimed his weapon then opened fire, though the beast was cunning and dodged the oncoming fire, forcing Pathernax to reload momentarily, giving the Vandal enough time to switch o his rifle and open fire. I could see Pathernax's shield with the help of my tactical visor: It was critical, no doubt from the high impact of the Vandal's weapon. I lunged forward, putting myself in immediate danger, taking the hits, which allowed Pathernax to recover some of his shields. "Hunter, move out!" Pathernax shouted.

I steered clear, noticing another relic on the leftmost artillery, but paid no attention to it. I crawled inside the bunker, where the controls for the weapon surely were; a large bundle of SIVA wires were all over, covering the entire wall and ground. The nanites were flowing through them, corrupting the ancient weapon's mainframe. The SIVA node that needed clearance caught my eye, and I shot it once with the cannon, causing its destruction; but unfortunately, there was a Captain, armed with sharp Shock Blades. He lunged at me, brushing my armour; thin cuts tore through the steel plating, cutting the skin, which resulted in a small gash. Blood seeped from the wound, but I ignored all the pain and distraught and ultimately prevailed.

I dodged the next strike, though protection was absent in my favour, but when I looked over, the Captain made another move—lunged toward me, sending me flying back in recoil. The blow didn't register well with me. The pain I had experienced earlier opened new gateways: The scorching pain lifted my senses, putting me in heavy disarray; I felt disoriented and unable to coordinate anything like I was drunk. I recovered to my feet, but the Captain punched me unmercifully as I tried to combat him. Another pang of pain shot through me. Waves of anguish washed over me; it was excited and debilitating, even for me. It was equivalent to being on fire, if not worse. Adrenaline had masked the jagged injury for at least a little while, but now it was biting. I took my attempt in getting back up, and I did. "Is that…" I said between breaths, "is that all you really got?"

The Captain looked at me and roared in anger. But before he had the chance to make his next move, I launched a lobe at the Captain and kept my finger on the trigger; the lobe grew larger with every other second passing, though the weapon somehow became more unstable the longer I kept my finger there.

So I released my finger.

A devastating explosion sounded and a blinding flash of blue light irradiated, and the Captain disintegrated into small Arc particles.

"That's what I thought." I dropped the cannon to take a few seconds rest. In the outside world, I could hear nothing but explosions and explosive gunfire that desensitized my senses. I was slowly losing touch of reality, but I kept my mind in check. I went over to the control panel of the weapon systems and shot it with my sidearm, forcing it to commit a self-destruct sequence, whereupon I found my way in the second bunker and destroyed the SIVA node and Captain, and then did the same for the third.

By the time I had finished disabling all the cannons, Pathernax had managed to clear out most of the enemies, though there were still plenty of standing. Pathernax mounted a Shock Cannon, turning the entire battle into a light show with flashes of blue and red mixing and weaving into a maelstrom of colours from the spectrum. The two clashes were unmatched at best, both sides complete utter powerhouses waging battle, one that was already sealed in fate. Neither had the advantage until two Fallen Skiffs were en route to us, each carrying a spider tank. The machines were distorted and felt more alive than usual.

Pathernax teleported into cover, and we braced ourselves with two spider tanks.

They dismantled from the Skiffs, crashing and thumping into the ground. The sinister machine roars they exuded rippled and echoed through the mountain ranges, putting even me at ease. The machines screeched the sounds of contorted metal. They slowly turned around to target us, their legs moving in perfect unison, quaking the ground with their sheer weight, a laser marking us, its cannons in fully charged and opening fire. The homing rounds tracked us, destroying the shipping container we were hiding behind. A second barrage of explosive projectiles soared to us, but Pathernax used protect—summoning a massive charged barrier of Void absorbing all the negative energy. Thick black smoke shrouded the area and we were met by another wave of bombs. "Get down!" I shouted, pushing my comrade out of the way. The aftermath would've killed us both had I not react.

As of now, we were sandwiched by the tanks, one on each side. To make matters worse there were more Fallen goons being deployed by Skiffs. Their weapons blared as a tangle of red slowly flying through the air and struck us, putting us to critical levels. "Where's Paledon when we need him?" I said, turning around and unleashing my Boomer on the threats. "On me Path!" We booked it to the centre bunker and sought coverage. "We fight to the end," I said sternly and with a level of determination that was inhumanly possible. "Focus!"

"Radio in support! It's our best chance of getting out of here alive!"

I grabbed Pathernax and said, "Get yourself together man. The tanks are just as capable of taking out any jump ships that get close to here. We have to fight." I glanced out, the Splicers and their tanks closing in. "Look, stay here, let me rattle the hornet's nest first. Then you come in. Got it?"

"Wait!"

Instantly, I went invisible and charged into the fray. I leapt above the company of Splicers, blinding them with purple smoke, then landed behind them in the snow. Then, purely on instinct, I revealed myself and staggered the group of Vandals and Servitors overseeing the assault. They convoked their tanks to deploy Reaper Shanks, armed with Shrapnel Launchers. Blasts of burning Solar came my way, but I dodged them with a somersault to the left and countered them with my Boomer. The splash damage was enough to hinder their weapons useless; trapped in the raging vortex of blue scrambled their directives to consume.

Next, I hauled an explosive red barrel of fuel at the company; it rolled toward them and a few precise shots resulted in a heap of flames consuming most of the group. Peeking over my shoulders, I lanced straight up, eluding the tank's homing rounds. While airborne, I backflipped, landing on the tank, whereupon I blasted it with my Boomer with extreme voluminous shots. "Scrappy junk," I said, as one of its legs faltered exposing its orange core. I unleashed everything I had, my Lord of Wolves and grenades. It wasn't much to the untrained eye, but it did considerable damage. And when the tank recovered, a shock emission sent me flying back; I slid through the cold snow, stopping right in front of Pathernax oddly enough. I paid a glance and said, "C'mon, I need ya more than ever."

Pathernax teleported into the battle and worked on dwindling the numbers.

But as soon as I recovered with the little remaining strength, SIVA barriers protected the tanks from all forms of damage. "Shit," I said. "We gotta take em' out or we're done!"

"How?" Pathernax asked, blinking from Splicer to Splicer, killing each with his shotgun. Shells clunked to the ground with every pump.

"The Servitors! They got charges to overload the tanks! We'll use our Light!"

"Then let's make it happen," he said, nodding, before teleporting away. Pathernax appeared parallel to the Servitors who were unleashing burning lobes of red orbs from their eyes. Their attacks were enough to send Pathernax grunting in frustration as he was reeling back from the pushback effect. He eventually recovered with the help of Light, projecting a barrier to immunize himself for a brief second. Scatter grenades exploded, stupefying the Servitors, cracks consuming their now weakened form.

Meanwhile, I was running sporadically, forcing the tank's attacks to do nothing but fly and reach the far distances of the Plaguelands. I dove behind some shipment container, took a quick breather, then vaulted out of cover, invisible this time, waiting for the right moment to strike. The tank was idly waiting for me, its prey, but I was out of its and the amidst Fallen's line of sight.

I exposed myself to in the open and readied my weapon.

I fired a few times at the swarm of Vandals and Servitors. Putting my weapon in overdrive without having to reload, I executed a roll to evade the enemies' impressive barrage of attacks; they would need a lot more firepower to knock me down.

Tempered by the fury of violet fire, I ran headstrong toward the Servitors, who were hovering near the centre bunker, Void static building up and trailing behind me. Electric streaks of purple discharged from my form as I ran, picking up more and more speed. Anything thrown at me was immediately negated, bounced off the ward surrounding me. As I stared into the dark heart of the Void, the nebulous purple clouds raged as I stole its power; I felt a great power consume me. I roared as my true primal abilities were unearthed.

Before the group of Splicers had any time to react, I released the bowstring, sending a flying tether. A meandering network of tethers suppressed all those who opposed us, and we cleared the Servitors and Vandals, the last minions standing.

Numerous charges were dropped from the Servitors and both Pathernax snatched one with haste.

Upon taking the charges, the tanks went dormant and were largely unreactive. They began to charge absurd amounts of SIVA from the surrounding areas. The nanites consumed the air and everything around us, bending the laws of the tangible reality. Dancing and curving in waves, SIVA slowed my progression to purge the machine abominations. They attacked me directly, eating away at my armour, trying to consume me with those haunting voices that echoed in my head; I could hear them—their pleas beautiful and powerfully endearing.

But I purged them from my subconscious mind.

"We can do it!" I shouted. "Fight through it!"

The SIVA consuming the area suppressed and slowed me down completely. It was like pushing a massive brick of steel. Twisted tendrils erupted through the ground, flailing violently; they tried to latch onto me, but my steadfastness challenged their corrupted will of SIVA. Slowly I inched my way forward, each step painful and bloody until I reached the glowing red barrier. I held the charge above my head and screamed as I crashed it against the barrier, shattering it into a multitude of fragments. The pinnacle of my success resulted in a violent surge of raw SIVA destroying the tank, sparking up in flames. The tank collapsed, a terrifying screech of metal piercing my ears—followed by the aftermath which recoiled me back.

I was met with the cold snow once again as I coughed, rolling over to my side.

Pathernax stepped up and extended an arm. "We did it."

"Oh yeah, we showed em'," I said pulling myself up. "Never seen anything like this."

"Neither have I, and I've seen a lot," Pathernax said.

I was walking with a limp. "All clear!"

"After you."

"Shiro-4, come in," I said, followed by static. "Come in, Shiro-4."

"I'm right here, buddy," he said on the other line. "Got some good news for me?"

"The Fallen are cleared from the Splicer's Battery. Send in the other Guardians. We need all the support we can get."

There was silence for a second. "On it. Expect support all over the Plaguelands in the next hour."

"Great. See you soon."

Pathernax paid me a glance. "Let's get outta here."

We left the ruined place, and I followed Pathernax out of the complex. We were in the Bunker Triglav, though there was significantly less enemy presence. The Fallen had retired from battle, by the looks of it. Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

"Paledon, Kabril," Pathernax said on the comms. "We've successfully dispatched the Splicer's hold on the artillery weapons."

There was that harrowing silence once more. There was no response on the comms.

"Paledon, Kabril, do you copy?" Pathernax said once more.

Nothing. I stepped up and beat Pathernax to his third punch. "Paledon, Kabril, are you there?! Paledon!"

Silence.


	3. iii- Balkanize-You

Balkanize- You _\- watch?v=qi2sAdE2QA0_

* * *

 _The Last City,_

 _Earth_

* * *

Beautiful.

The Last City was impeccable, to say the least. Surrounded by a gigantic wall, created by the Titans, it was a marvel of engineering and art. The most obvious features were the countless array of buildings that filled the ground—some were tall, others were stubby, and there were even houses too. There were mostly families residing in the City, along with businessmen, newsmen, teachers, policemen, and even researchers. Guardians visited the City on their own leisure, to get away from Tower affairs or the stressful details assigned to us, but most of the time, we went to designated bars and night clubs; but some Guardians have a hard time relating to the rest of the City, and others know their struggles all too well. The things you see in battle change you. The people might read about the latest development in what the Warriors of Light are doing, but it's a whole other story to witness it with your two eyes

Orion and I were at some bar in town. The place was rich in merits. From the cheerful hyper-retro music (how it was preserved was beyond my understanding) that played, to the small dance floor that had flashing coloured squares, and the giant overhead disco ball, to the dim hanging lights that gave atmosphere. There was a second floor leading to luxurious chairs and an outside patio with a bar, incidentally where Orion and I were situated. The nightlife reigned over the city from below, people anxiously waiting to get into the club and party the night away; it was without question they were here to escape the essence of reality and spiral down the rabbit hole, only to regret the notion instantly.

Orion and I were sitting at the bar, doing several shots of tequila, while watching a drunk Warlock stumble off her stool and struggle to get back up. She mumbled something under her breath, perhaps cursing at the bartender for refusing service, and begun to dance. And being the nuts we were, laughed incredulously. "?Unbelievable how drunk people get, huh?" I said without a stammer.

"What? That Warlock over there is a total babe. I mean look at her swinging those hips…and arms and…" He took another sip. "Look at her go. You go, babe, woo-who!"

I moved closer to him, lowing my hand. "Simmer down, Tiger. You've been off the rails all night."

Orion looked at me and laughed. "Did you just call me 'Tiger'?"

"Yes, I did," I said, finishing another shot, then slamming it on the counter, being careful not to break it. "Hey, bartender. A refill please!" I had Ghost dispense five-hundred Glimmer. The bartender came and went to work. "Seriously though, what's gotten into you, buddy?"

Orion turned fully and looked at me funny. "I dunno. The idea of us cracking the case of this well has gotten me excited."

The bartender came back with more shots. I picked one up, and drilled it into me. "You lured me into unlocking the power of seeing people's memories. What else do you want me to say?"

"Shh. Keep your voice down."

Orion glanced over his shoulder, then back to me, before moving closer. The music in the background helped in a way as it cloaked our conversation. "You've seen the temple. It's buried under a jungle. You and I are the only ones who know of it. Besides," he said taking a shot, "no one else knows the map of the simulation."

"And the Vex."

"That's beside the point." He took another sip of his drink, finishing it. Placed the glass down. "The Vex have abandoned that site ever since they overtook Venus and created the Vault of Glass."

I shook my head and pushed the shot I was holding, then scoffed, shaking my head. "You never did learn did you? What would Astral think about you venturing off into something we barely know? For all we know, the Vex could be trapping gullible fools like us. Did you ever stop to think why they abandoned it?"

Orion frowned like he had witnessed his Ghost being destroyed, nearly on the verge of crying. Then he sighed as if he resented me. "Don't you bring Astral into this. She doesn't have to worry about me—"

"Luring your best friend into some dangerous endeavour that could get us both killed by the machines? You're smarter than this, Orion. What's your real motive here?" For a brief moment, there was a great silence that reined over the bar, and it persisted like this for several seconds. And through it all, even though the chatter and music was still physically discernible, I focused on the important thing in this room and watched Orion shuffle around nervously as I waited for a response. "You can tell me. It can't be that bad."

Orion sighed distraughtly. He wiped his face with a swift hand and sighed again. "No motive. I want to discover something that no one has before. That's how you break history, my friend. We are close to something so great, a power given to us by a near god-like entity, and all you have to do is help me."

"How do you know the Well is really what it is?" I asked with diligence, and rubbed my heated face. "You must know something!"

He rolled his eyes playfully. "I've already told you what I know."

"But there has to be—"

"Hey, bartender," a drunk bulky patron with a beard and long hair said. He, bulky and irritated, reeked of liquor and was croaky and undignified. "Give me and the boys another round."

The bartender refused service, shaking his head. "No can do, not under a good conscience."

The man grunted and cleared the shots in front of us. A crash of glass shattering sparked murmurs as the surrounding crowds paid furtive glances to the commotion. The shots we paid for were gone, thanks to this drunken idiot. I couldn't tell if he was a Guardian or a citizen but I took matters into my own judgement as he reached over the bar for a bottle. Without thinking, I grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down, sending him crashing on the floor. "Back off, chump," I said.

"Why you little shit," he said, staggering as he rose. He punched me in the face, and sent me recoiling, then he kicked me through a set of stools that clanged and disrupted the peace. My arm had broken several glasses and shards burrowed in my arm.

In a confused and angry state, I, ripping the shards out, snarled, recovered, and countered with a flurry of swift punches to his gut and face. The burly man fell and whimpered as blood pooled from his nose, but in a moment's time he got up again and swung, but Orion stopped it with a hand and knocked him stone-cold into the bar counter. Between heavy breaths, I said, "Thanks, buddy."

"Don't mention it," he said as he sat down, and watched a group of men carry their friend away. If I see you around here again, I'll skin you with my knife. Now get out of here."

I cleared my throat and looked at Orion. I shook my head and ran a hand down my face. I thought long but pateiently as I took another shot the bartender had compensated for us. "Will this well change our lives for the better? Or will it sereve a darker purpose that we are unaware of?"

"That is something I cannot answer," he said but the uncertainy in his voice was clear. "I want to get off of this rotting blue marble. The darkness will contest us one day, and when it does, we, the last of civilization will cease to exist. I am sure, I am really sure that this is the break we need to foresee what will truly happen."

There was a long, dreaded pause as we said nothing and did nothing.

"Are you going to tell Paledon?" Orion asked dryly.

"Only if you tell Astral," I replied with no-nonsense.

"She will find out after we're done. I promise."

"I don't think she'll appreciate you being off the radar." I said as I looked around the club and noticed a group of people walking in with flashy apparel and a springly gait.

"Don't be so sure about that," he said, dispensing some Glimmer. "I'm going to see her before we leave. Things aren't going to well between us."

"Tell me why," I said.

"I have to go, brother", Orion said distastefully and sadly. "I'll see you later."

I was left behind with my own thoughts, but none of them were positive or enhancing. I sulked to myself over a few more shots.

* * *

 _Bunker Triglav_

 _Old Russia, Earth_

* * *

Nothingness!

My first several seconds after enduring the appalling silence was a heart-bursting eternity of thunderous-pounding terror! The silence surrounded me, suffocated me. If I had been able to draw breath, I would have screamed.

And then my mind started to adjust to the silence. I began to calm down, gasping, feeling weak. Dead comms were always a bad sign that things went south. The Splicers could have placed a jammer just mere seconds of us speaking with Shiro-4, but what were the chances? But somehow, I couldn't explain why this felt different because as I stood, feeling the cool air placate and tickle me, thoughts spiralled aimlessly in all directions. I could hear the wind howl, and even my own breathing; that's how silent it was. Still, I was struck more by what I couldn't hear: The voice of Pathernax, warfare booming on in the far distance; their absence was powerful that I first mistook the outside and everything around me as silent, even though it was not. A perfect silence—a paradise where I could let my mind wander and be free. I could still feel the snow beneath my feet; and though I could not see much or far, I could see further than I had realised: We had to do something. Paledon and Kabril were out there somewhere.

They need our help.

Then again, as a Hunter, that would be my first instinct. It might not be factual, but it's the first thing that comes to mind. Dead comms. Unresponsive teammates. What else could possibly come to mind? I shook myself out of my trance, then walked over to Pathernax. Spoke sternly. "We have to find them. Let's go."

I made our way toward the Lord's Watch, but Pathernax chased after me. Stood in front. "Okay, we don't know anything yet," he said. "Maybe they're busy dealing with the Splicers."

"But—"

"Or there's a jammer blocking the signal."

"Speculation isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to start looking. So let's go."

We made our way to the Lord's Watch, back to the ruined walker tank we defeated together as a team.

Nothing.

"Maybe they went to the next area?" Pathernax said. "They did say something about investigating the other section, correct?"

"That's what I commanded, yes," I said, summoning Ro. A giant map of the Plaguelands displayed itself. "Giant's Husk. Let's go."

"Understood."

I summoned my Sparrow for quicker transportation. Running on foot got tiring after awhile, even as a Hunter. Situated and feet on the back pedals, I revved the Sparrow, the engine roaring, then accelerated forward second. A blue trail of plasma energy was tailing the end of my bike; the faster I go, the bluer it got. Pathernax was following behind me on his own Sparrow. I did a sharp turn to my left, then straightened my drive, bringing me toward a multitude of shipment contains stacked on top of one another, and nets with Fallen capsules hung from the top of the collapsing structure. We shifted and turned, drifted and adjusted our speed as we zoomed our way through the enclosed space.

Soon, we reached the threshold of the Giant's Husk. There were even more shipment contains diffused around us. Some were tipped over, and others were stacked.

In front of us was a ship with land metal stairwells leading upward to an entry. There was a cave off to my far right and there were SIVA wires everywhere. Fallen goons were scattered around, and even some Hive. Mostly Wizards and Acolytes.

We hopped off our Sparrows, weapons drawn. "So now what do we do?" Pathernax asked.

"We look around. Fan out," I said, before stoping in my tracks, an idea popping in my head"Actually. Ro."

"Yes?" Ro popped up right in front of my face, her form spinning.

"Could you track Paledon and Kabril for us. If you could, that would make our lives so much easier."

"I certainly can try. I just need to…Fallen incoming!"

"Why did I have a feeling you were going to say that?" I asked, letting out a frustrating sigh.

"Here's the deal. Protect me while I try and track down Paledon and Kabril's location."

"Every time," I muttered to myself, hoping Ro didn't hear me.

"I heard you. Just watch my back."

"Got it." I turned to Pathernax. "You heard her. Let's get ready for a fight."

A Fallen Ketch ripped through the upper atmosphere sending a pulsing sound wave through the air. It broke the sound barrier, all too easily. Three Skiffs in total were dispatched to distant areas of the Cosmodrome that didn't concern us, at least yet. One in particular made its way to us, no doubt to provoke a fight. The Fallen were always seeking to prove their worth, their loyalty, even invalidate their fears. When the Skiff motioned toward us, hovering a low height above the ground, I readied myself for impact. Turrets were exposed, which was a first in a while, and shot us with bolts of SIVA or some form of Solar Energy. They put a moderate dent in my shields, forcing me to drawback from the assail. I found cover behind a shipment container; they were a blessing and a curse.

Pathernax was already opening fire on the troops jumping down, their weapons already opening fire on us. He blinked, evaded the projectiles coming his way. There were Shanks, Servitors, and a few Vandals. Luckily there weren't any exasperating Captains this time. "A little assistance would be appreciated, Hunter!" Pathernax shouted, chucking a few grenades at the enemy.

I vaulted out of cover and ran forward. My weapon and arms were swaying back and forth with every step I took. Sweat was already pooling on the side of my head, and I felt it trickle down my temples; I rose my weapon, and pulled the trigger, sending rotting lobbing bolts of starfire at the second Vandal and Servitor, teleporting to the right of me, red matter streaking the air. Its form rotated and shot red orbs from its eye. I withstood the damage done to my shield and focused on pumping out raw damage.

I quickly switched to my Lord of Wolves before sliding in the snow to unleash its devastation. The Servitor went down, though there was still one more to deal with. To my right, there it was, looking at me. I shadestepped aside, then reloaded but before I had a chance to strike, Pathernax already beat me to the punch as he arose and shot twice from his shotgun, downing the Servitor. Pieces of the once ancient artefact were in smithereens.

Ro appeared in front of me. "I don't have anything yet. But if we keep moving, we might get something. Keep your head up."

For the next little while, we investigated the nearby abandoned ship. We ascended the rusty stairs that lead us to an entryway. Inside was a corridor blocked off by a laser grid. Unfortunately for us, neither of our Ghosts could do anything about the grid. Apparently we required something called a Splicer Key, dropped by certain Fallen lieutenants. I didn't know the first place to look for them, but I was sure we'd come across one sooner or later.

"Hunter…we should rest," Pathernax said. "The surrounding area seems clear of hostiles. There's a cave where we can reside in. I got a couple of sleeping bags with my Ghost. We can use that and make a fire."

"But what about Paledon? And Kabril. I'm worried about them," I said, taking a seat on the ledge of the stairwell.

Pathernax sat down with me. "And I'm sure he is worried too. You trust him, right?"

My head turned to him. "What kind of question is that? Of course I do! I trust him with my life."

"Good. Then you can trust in him that he's looking out for himself and Kabril. I know you're vastly worried, but I assure you he is fine."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Sure I do. Need I have to enlighten you again with my vast wisdom?'

"Spare me your lecture, Path," I said, without the intention of sounding harsh or rebuffing.

Pathernax shook his head in an understanding way; compassion and sympathy were radiating off of him; I could feel it. He gave me a light pat on the shoulder, then said, "I'm going to get things ready for us. Take as much time as you need out here. I'll be waiting for you." He jumped down, headed for the cave, leaving me to myself.

A little alone time was exactly what I had yearned for since the comms went dead. Today had been an indeed stressful day. My body was aching, and exhaustion was rippling through me like piranhas would. Fighting three spider tanks, and doing an entire mission, all in one day, drained me mentally. To be quite honest, I wasn't used to this level of intensity, especially after six months of being decommissioned. Being disconnected from fight for so long really messed me up. Coming back out here…on the field was one helluva ploy of mine.

I gazed up at the star-painted sky—starlight soaked my eyes, making me wince them close. The dark moon illumed its rays downward, as did the Traveler. The night was a serenity, to say the least. I couldn't quite pinpoint why this area wasn't flooded with Fallen, given the current existential crisis. The idea of SIVA, what it can do, how powerful it can render a form was enticing yet the repercussions were so reprehensible. I cleared the thoughts from the roots of the mind.

It was only Pathernax and I her at the Giant's Husk. Something had to be up. Theres no reason for the Splicers to give up so much ground, not after claiming their corrupted prize. I drank in the night-sky vista momentarily before catching a flicking light in a distant cave. "We'll find Paledon and Kabril first thing in the morning," Ro said, disrupting my reverie. "I promise you."

I nodded gracefully and dubiously looked away from the array of bright stars, then made my way to the cave. I double jumped my way up to the entrance, then found my way in. The cavern was relatively large with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. There was already a lit fireplace in the middle, along with two sleeping bags on either side. Pathernax was sitting, his helmer off, watching the burning blaze. Around the large and sandy clearing that was the cave, the fire made shadows all around us; some of them trickled across Pathernax's face. He appeared strange to me, like I had never seen him before; the calm minded Warlock was never troubled by anything, always meditating to clear the mind.

The only sound between us was the crackling fire. Embers scattered around the the fire. I suppose kindling were worthwhile after all. Before I did anything else, I sealed the entryway with some hardened leather that was lying around, probably some article from Pathernax's inventory. No air was getting in other than through the upper level. I motioned back to the fire. Sat down on the sleeping bag, my arms behind me for support. I took my helmet and boots off, placing them aside. I curled my toes in front of the fire, warming them up. I let out a sigh. Glanced at Pathernax. "You fought well tonight."

Pathernax let out a half-suppressed peal of laughter. "You did too. I'm surprised you've handled yourself as well as you have. It's not easy being—"

I put my hand out. "Please. There's no need to explain, I know." I shook my head in odium. My blood heated up a little as the flames crackled in the cold air. For once, I felt warm and at ease, unlike the past day of nothing but coldness and despair.

He fidgeted with some stone he had picked up. "I'm just happy you're back. We've all missed you dearly."

"Thanks," I said with a half-hearted smile. I drew my feet back and sat with my legs crossed. "You know, I still can't help but feel that I haven't found my purpose in this universe yet."

"Do you really believe that?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

Pathernax threw the stone at the fire. The flames dispersed a bit, but dwindled down to nothing but a mere flickering flame. "So let me ask you this. What did you think about during your decommission? Aside from all the psychotic episodes, what were you thinking and feeling?"

I let out hard breath. "I don't know, things about what I had done wrong and what I could've done differently. I felt like I had lost my path that Orion and I made for each other."

"But what of Paledon? You count him as your brother too, right?" he asked, shifting around.

"Of course I do, it's just that…like." I thought for a long, hard second. "Paledon and I weren't together from the start. Orion and I were. We did things together that were bounded by an Hunter's bond."

Pathernax tried smiling at me, but it drooped like a dying plant. "I'm not so sure what that means, but what you must understand is that Orion's disappearance wasn't your fault. You and I…well." He gave off a nervous laugh. "We shouldn't have let him board that mysterious ship during that Cabal strike."

I looked at my companion straight in the eyes. "We shouldn't have. But that doesn't excuse what was done. I feel lost in this universe now. Even with Paledon and my fireteam behind me…this crisis is one thing, but what do I have to look forward to? Paledon and I might be close, really close, but he's a Titan. Forcing the bond would only strain us, if not damage our kinship."

Pathernax's breathing was calm, much like his pure devoid mind. He closed his eyes and hummed under the fire's crackling. The smoke rose to the cave's ceiling, flicking shadows on the mineral filled walls. "You feel Paledon won't be able to guide you like Orion did."

"Exactly," I said, moving closer to the flames. "I feel lost even with him. I know not all Guardians are meant for greatness, but I want to contribute to something that will drive humanity forward, put our City to a stronger innovation than we already have."

"For a Hunter, you sure care about the City," Pathernax said, and brushed off a heap of ash off his vestments.

"It's my home. But that's besides the point."

"Let me tell you a story about dreams, Hunter," Pathernax said, crossing his legs. "This is an old Warlock tale, passed on by the riches of our ancestors. It is rare for other classes to be exposed to our manuscripts, but I feel as hough you are worthy."

"Okay…" I said, unsure of what he meant by all of this. Go on, then!"

"In the ancient times, about a hundred years after Guardians were first risen by the Traveler, there lived a Warlock who had a Titan as his student. The Titan sought to protect the rebuilding City in the wild lands in the Sol, while contributing to it directly.

"One night the Titan had a dream. A Light deity appeared to him and told him that the Titans must do everything in their power to keep the City strong and that the practice would be repeated throughout the world for all generations to come. The Titan woke from his dream, grateful and crying, because the life he was given was generous, and had revealed to him something that would make newly birthed Titans proud.

"The Titan then wrote a book, for all Titans, titled, 'The Song of Cities'. Principles of being a great Titan were scripted, and the rules of what should be done in a crisis were included too. Over the years, every new born Titan, after reaching the City, was exposed to this manuscript.

"Shortly thereafter, the Titan perished as he tried to save a young one from a Fallen attack in the European Dead Zone. His Ghost was ripped to pieces by a Captain, overseeing the assault. Since he had lived his entire life in a manner that was correct and fair, he went directly to the Traveler's soul, where he met the deity that appeared in his dream.

" 'You were always a formidable and respectable Titan,' the Light deity said to him. 'You lived your life in a loving way and died with dignity, following through on your principles as a Titan. I can now grant you any wish you desire.'

" 'Life was good to me,' the Titan said. 'When you appeared in my dream, I felt that all my efforts had been rewarded, because of my willingness to abide by the Titan's law. I don't want anything for myself. But any Titan that follows the principles of protecting the City would be proud of themselves. Sometime in the distant future, I would like to see the City and how it has grown.'

"The Light deity touched the Titan's shoulder, and they were both projected far into the future, powered by the Traveler's raw energy. They were in an immense setting, surrounded by a massive City, rich of towers and people living their innocent lives, unplagued by the Darkness.

"The Titan wept with happiness.

" 'I knew my fellow Titans would follow in my footsteps,' he said to the Light deity. 'Could you please tell me what this all means for our last hope of surviving?'

"The Light deity came closer to the Titan, and, with tenderness, led him to a bench nearby, where they sat down.

" 'The verses of your texts became very popular after your passing,' the Light deity said. 'Every Titan followed it with absolute grace. But when the rise of the Sunbreakers came along, your scripts were forgotten.

"The Titan looked at the deity in surprise.

" 'The Sunbreakers arose from Mercury, and their ideals were set in stone: Protecting the City from afar within the Solar System, and never seeking shelter under the City. They became quaint with their own rules and laws. And one day, one of them faltered to a surprise Vex attack in the Fields of Glass, and he perished under their will. One Titan amongst the cult decided to leave Mercury and visit the City for the first time.

" 'And so, despite the fact he was a Sunbreaker, he read the manuscript and converted to the written principles. Shortly, thereafter, there was a pitiful Fallen surprise attack on the City, and he vanished the threats completely. Then, upon entering the Traveler's Shrine, located in an old, abandoned Tower, this is what the Sunbreaker Titan had to say,' the Light deity told the Titan. 'These are the words the Titan said directly to the Traveler and they have never been forgotten: "My God of Light, I am not worthy to wield your power. Not after seeing how fragile the Last City is. I am gravely sorry for my negligence and will do everything in my power to protect it. Even if it means my death to be written in history.""'

Pathernax, taking a breath, said, "No matter what he does, every Guardian in the universe plays a central role in our history. And normally, he doesn't even know it."

I couldn't react. Honestly. Nothing but silence was my response, as my mind processed the story. "I don't even know what to say to that."

"We Warlocks are an enigma," he said, and tossed more kindling into the near dying flames. "Every Warlock knows this story. You're probably one of the few Hunters to walk the plains to know of it. That's something special, old friend."

"So what you're saying is…" I had to think before I continued.

"Go on! You can do it."

"I have to be patient."

"Bingo!" Pathernax said with a wide smile. "Patience, dear boy. You'll know your purpose in this universe soon. Sometimes it takes years and decades even for it to come to light. Do not let it trouble you."

"What's your purpose in the universe?" I asked, curious.

"That is for only me to know." Pathernax closed his eyes, and a smile formed on his face. "You'll see what my propose is. And when it does happen, you'll understand. And that'll be what makes me most happiest."

I didn't respond."

"I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for with enough patience and resilience. But you've already proved both today."

I smiled and found comfort by staring at the mineral filled wall and listening to the crackling fire as sleep carried me to my own dreams.

* * *

 _An Unknown Place,_

 _Unknown_

* * *

The light was unearthly; a calm eldritch illumination cast a steady glow across the landscape. A lazily arcing stretch of white sand seemed to reach out forever to the left and right with seas before it; and there were a range of volcanoes distantly visible in the mist behind it. Everything was still; indeed, the world itself was still, under the cloudless, sunless sky. As I stood on the beach, staring out at the horizon, the sea was frozen. The surface of the water was rough and choppy yet immobile. Tall waves and gouts of spray were paralysed even as they had risen, but they were not ice nor were they any resemblance. There was simply no movement in this world.

My best guess was that it was Venus, though as there was an endless span of jungle behind me. There were no Vex, no Taken, no Fallen anywhere.

I looked left and right, searching for something, if only I could pinpoint exactly what. My eyes alighted upon a flash of ochre amidst the iron-grey waves, before I began to walk toward the sight with a peculiar sense of foreboding gnawing at me. My pace seemed uncoordinated and daunted, ungainly even, despite the sand being smooth and rockless; and when I reached the edge of the water, I couldn't tell if the journey had taken a second or a year, and tentatively, acting entirely on impulse, I touched the water with an experimental foot feeling the water soak my boots and socks. The surface of the water was dynamically solid and pleasantly warm. It felt and sounded like glass, more than anything else. Glancing between the crests, I strained my neck, and once again caught sight of the flashing ochre. Something inside me said that I didn't want to meet whoever was out there on the water, but I felt driven by an unknown force, impossible to comprehend. Slowly, carefully, I picked my way between the frozen wave-tops, the surface clinking beneath my feet.

At last, I laid eyes upon the quarry: At the foot of the largest wave I had yet seen lay an ochre human Hunter, his armour bedraggled and unvibrant, and his eyes half-closed. He wore no helmet, and his hair was unkempt, but the colour of his skin was scarcely affected, such as its vibrancy. A pristine and elegant disposition. I cantered closer. "Orion?" I asked, my voice for some reason sounding low and muffled, even in this open space. The figure in front of me turned his head to look at me, but it was as if his face were taken from a blurred photograph as his features were indistinguishable. I took an involuntary step back—fear rising like the bile in my throat. In the shadow of the overhanging wave, Orion got to his feet.

"Come here, Hunter. C'mere, buddy, ol' pal." His voice was quiet and soothing, although, scarcely, any movement of his blurred lips could be discerned. "Come here, buddy. You can join me in the eternal depths of death. We can rest there with the Well we never uncovered." His voice became minacious and deep. "You failed us, dear brother."

I took another step back. I was directly under the peak of the large wave now. "I can't stay here. I have to go," I said, unsure as to why I chose those particular words. The darkness around me was condensing and veiling the distant glass horizon and it succeeded in daunting me.

"Catch me if you can! It'll be like the good ol' games of tag we used to play! Remember them?" he whispered, his low voice carrying easily through the still air. For a moment there was silence like hardened like the waters around me, aching to break free of the corruption that surrounded us in a torrent of screams and despair. Then, entirely on spontaneous combustion, the lake discharged flares of Solar, unfreezing the see and cracking the shallow ice below and returning to a rough, stormy liquid. Before I had the chance to fall into the gelid depths, the roaring wave fell and smashed into us, immersing and washing us away in a maelstrom of twisting currents. I had found myself in the temple Orion had shown me. I was in the doorway, facing the Well of Memories, then Orion exposed himself, the blur to his face still present, from the shadows.

"Why didn't you save me, Hunter? I thought you were my brother…" he said, his voice sounding draggy and sinister. "Why!" His voice sliced through me, forcing fear upon me.

My form was shaking and I was unable to move only speak. "You sacrificed yourself so I could succeed in taking out the Bond Brothers! I shouldn't have left you, and it's my fault you're gone now. I failed you and Sabled Sun. Please show me mercy, brother!"

"Never!" Orion, expanding to a colossal beast, exuding sticky black spawn, entities rendered by pure Darkness, with thousands of sharp teeth came crashing down on me, opening his mouth to eat me and the crystal. There was an evil, sinister laugh resonating and it was Pathernax who was standing beside the crystal now. "You're still weak." He came up to me and retrieved Ro somehow, then ripped her apart. My very Light was being drained from me with his touch. It was suffocating. As I gasped for air helplessly, I collapsed to my knees, then reacquainted myself with death.

* * *

 _The Giant's Husk_

 _Old Russia, Earth_

* * *

With a gasp of shock, my eyes flew open, and I bolted upright in bed, like a catapult, my heart hammering. Sweat covered my entire body as I looked around in momentary panic. It was still dark outside, I could feel it. My breathing gradually returned to normal and I looked down to see Pathernax staring at me in concern through the gloom.

"Are you okay, Hunter?"

"Bad dream," I said, unable to keep a small shake in my voice. "Sorry to wake you up like that."

"I was kind of half-awake anyway," Pathernax admitted, comfortingly smiling at me. "These nightmares you have…what are they about?"

"What do you think?" I asked, plopping myself back down, then letting a sigh. I glanced at him once again. "I have more than one recurring nightmare, Path."

The fire had dwindled down to nothing but a few burning embers; they glowed in the cold, air-filled cave. The howling winds whistled on the outside, picking up more speed. Snow rattled the shipment containers, metal banging on metal. "A blizzard?"

"Sure is," Pathernax said, prodding the fire with a stick. "It should be gone by dawn."

"If it's not," I said, "we still go."

The Warlocked nodded in content, not saying anything more.

Later that morning, Pathernax and I left our lovely little cave, and set off to find Paledon and Kabril. The morning wasn't kind to us though as the blizzard was spattering sharply against us and the surrounding environment; ice was beginning to form as a result, something we most certainly needed. Luckily for me, Pathernax and his wizardry was able to conjure up some sort of veil spell, so we wouldn't get frostbite from the lack of protection. And as we travelled our way through the Giant's Husk, looking for any clues that would lead us to our lost friends, the silence between Pathernax and I was companionable. It was better than booming warfare and agonising cries of death. The reigning silence paid a tribute to us, respecting our war-weary and exhausted state; the cosmos was being merciful, a pure rarity amongst its area of influence. The whipping snow hurled itself against the shipment containers, some being carried by the strong winds, while others slid.

"If this keeps up," I said over the winds, "we'll never find em'."

"Keep going, remember what your purpose is now."

The mind became clear. "To find them."

"Then let's keep going."

"I'm picking up an odd amount of Light coming from around the corner there," Ro finally said. "In the Doomed Sea."

"The Doomed Sea?" I asked.

"It's the next area on your map."

We pushed through the snowstorm, worse than anything imaginable. The shoreline was beautiful, from the overcast sky causing rainfall, to the wretched ships that were in the distance. There was a tilted ship in the water by the shore. And upon reaching the threshold, we trailed alongside the wires that overtook the rock formations to our right and left. Flailing tendrils jetted from the ground, but they were overtaken by nature's wrath. And through all the pain of the blistering cold, we came across a sweeping landscape, untainted by the storm.

The Archon's Keep, spore an impressive landscape, vast and wide, with streams of lava flowing in burrowed trenches, and even seeping from pipes on the distant observatory. There was a crashed plane in the dead centre, and several platforms behind. Forges of rotating machines circled huge lava pits which had towering nodes of SIVA wires moulding into armour and weapons, right on the spot. Through the silence, a chime jingled through the depths of some distant cave, a hammer striking an anvil forging a new creation of machines. Even the air was tainted, radiating a faint orange hue/tint.

There weren't any Splicers guarding or patrolling these grounds; had the Fallen figured out another purpose with SIVA, one that involved going completely dormant and forgetting about this unruly crisis and hibernating for eternity under the earth's crust?

What was to come thrilled me beyond the expanse of the forge itself.

"Picking up traces of Light beneath the plane. It might be Paledon and Kabril," Ro said. "Also be careful. There's something odd around here. No Fallen? Something's up."

"You're telling us," I said seriously. "Understood."

We approached the ancient crash site with caution. Our weapons were ready to fire if anything had jumped out at us. As the snow crunched beneath our feet, I heard a click of something, as if it were a mine; a trigger warning of some sort. "Pathernax. Don't move."

"Why?" he asked.

"Web Mines."

There was a red glowing web mine beneath my foot. The Fallen had always had a variety of tricks up their many sleeves, and Web Mines were only one; they were a proximity or impact triggered snare device that releases a tangle of heavy Arc energy, causing spatial distortion within its sphere of influence. Had we been blinded this entire time and fallen in an inescapable trap? For a moment I let my senses wander and nothing else, yet I could feel my pulse beating in my ears, as I heard a cry for help by some near inaudible voice, blocking out all other sounds except the breath that was raggedly moving in and out of my mouth. I found that I was staring at someone lying on the ground, under the plane ruins. I couldn't take my eyes away from the bodily form lying limply on the ground; and at that point nothing else mattered—not the unstable mine or potential ambush. The connection I had by looking at this someone had to held because if I broke it, he would die. I never felt so certain in of anything else in my life.

Carefully, with precise caution, I slowly lifted my foot from the mine, forcing it to eject. The spherical mine jounced up in the air, spun around, making a beeping noise after its activation. I reeled back, then took a hold of it, weighted it. The device was light, but it sure as hell packed a punch. I threw it in the distance, sending it flying in the air, wherein it burst into a sphere of Arc webs. I exhaled to calm my nerves, then instantly ran forth to where I perceived that somebody to be. As I got closer, my visor indicated that it was someone I indeed knew. It was Kabril. "Pathernax, get over here!" I yelled as I fell to my knees, than crawled my way to her. "Kabril! Kabril, are you there?!" I put and ear to her mouth. "She's still breathing!"

Pathernax followed suit. "Where's Paledon?"

A cough escaped from Kabril's mouth. My guess was that her vision was blurry. "Hunter? Is that you?"

"It sure is, buddy. Are you okay?" I asked, placing both my hands on the side of her helmet. "Where's Paledon?"

"I don't know. We spent the night near some ship. We left like an hour ago. When we got here, the Fallen…they…they ambushed us. Paledon went after a Captain of interest, I think. I don't know everything happened so fast!"

"Can you stand?"

"Yeah…" she stammered.

I helped her to her feet. "Here, sit down." As she sat down, I got my bearings together. "Do you remember where Paledon went or any idea where he could've gone? What happened?"

"We were going to see what this Archon's Forge was about. Maybe that's where he went?" Kabril said, rubbing her head. "Everything is a blur."

Pathernax came up and gave her a canteen with fresh water. She took periodic sips as she spoke. "Say. Did you ever try calling us over the comms? We were waiting to hear back from you."

"We tried after we overturned the Fallen's hold on the military weapons, but the comms were down. They still are, I think."

"They are," Kabril said. "If they were up, we'd know where Paledon is. But in any case, we should get a move on. I want to look for Paledon just as badly as you two do."

"But you were out cold. Shouldn't you at least rest for awhile?" Pathernax asked.

Kabril got up from her seat, then handed the Warlock his canteen back. "No. I'm not one to sit around. Let's go."

"I'm just looking out for your best interests at heart."

"Let's go! Don't make me shove an Arc Blade up your ass," she said playfully.

Sassy girl.

"Alright, alright, sheesh," Pathernax said.

I stood there laughing at my silly comrades, making the harrowing situation come to light, then followed suit. We came across an abandoned facility with active computer terminals scattered around. A quick flight of stairs and we were inside; there were even thee capsules with a live eye looking around. We ran through the tunnel corridor, twisting right and left, every which way. Eventually we came across a gigantic arena with spheres engrossed in the scorched earth. In front of us was Paledon! He was lying on the ground, his form unmoving. A gash slashed across his chest. "Oh no!" I said, rushing over to him.

We each did our part to carry him outside, away from the place that mutilated him, undoubtedly by the Fallen, while being careful with his wounds. There was a cave not too far from us. We resided in there for the time being. I placed him on one of Pathernax's sleeping bag, hoping that the fleecy comfort would do the trick, rather than the solid ground. His breathing was still nonexistent. I was frozen, unable to think or react. I was inert like a noble gas. My body was stiffening. There was no way he was dead. His Ghost was still radiating Light.

"Let me try and revive him," I said, my hands pressed gently on his gash as a means to heal his wounds with the Light. Channelling he Light from within was easy: Visions of Light scaled the essence of the mind as I pleaded to my god for its power. An aura of white veiled me; Light transferred from my being to his, releasing a shockwave of Light, purifying us as I revived my brother from the grasp of death. I felt considerably weaker that I had lost some Light, but it wasn't like I couldn't get it back. Fatigue rippled through me as I faltered under my own weight. "C'mon big guy, get up!"

Movement caught my eye as Paledon stirred back to life, audible breaths escaping his chest. He coughed harshly and his eyes opened staring at his fireteam. "Was I down?"

"You sure were," I said, smiling. "Good to see you back."

"Shut up," Paledon said playfully.

Pathernax tapped his comrade on the shoulder. "Good to see you back, buddy."

"You too."

"To answer your question," Kabril said, "Archon's Forge. You and I got split up somehow. Can you remember how?"

"No, not really. It's like someone is using my head as drums."

"Guys, let's worry about this later," I said, and wrapped Paledon's hand around my neck. "Let's transmat out and get back home. I'm detecting a massive amount of Splicers incoming."

"Can't we fight them?" Pathernax asked, his hand gripping his rifle firmly. "I'm ready to do this now."

Paledon had a countenance plastered to his face, one that I couldn't quite understand. It was a mix of content and fear, the former for being with me (I presumed) and the latter for fighting. "I don't know. There is still pain in my chest."

"Then it's settled," I said. "We won't fight."

"But—"

"Besides, who said we have to fight them, Pathernax? We're been out here for at least two and a half days. I think it's time we retire and go back to the Tower. Too much has happened here. We need to report back."

"But with an existential crisis like this, we can lose everything if we don't attack from all angles. Especially with the Fallen. They're cunning and devious."

"Pathernax where is your head, brother?" I asked, my voice filled with annoyance. I was guiding my brother to the exit to see the situation. "If we go out there, we'll get yourself hurt and maybe even killed. We don't know what we're up against. I mean for the love of the Traveler, Paledon had a huge gash across this chest. What does that say? We're dealing with something big and bad. We still don't know everything about SIVA and going in blind is the worse thing we can do right now."

"Actually," Kabril intervened. "When Paledon and I were out, we found a few SIVA clusters you told me about. Maybe we can use them to our advantage."

"Hunter found one too," Pathernax said. "Something about the Clovis Bray Facility on Mars."

"Maybe we should investigate there and see what they have logged about SIVA," Kabril said. "It's out best option, Pathernax."

"I agree," Paledon said, still in vast pain, obvious by his struggle to maintain his own support. "We need rest. Please."

"We go back. We can deal with this later. Right now I'm looking out for the best interests of everyone here. We'll set a course to Mars first thing tomorrow evening. Let's transmat outta here."

Before we knew it, we all disappeared from the surface, off to rest and calm the mind down before our next endeavour. The last thing I heard before transmating out was a deep, resounding laugh of a crazy Fallen. It sent chills down my spine and it got me to think about what we were truly up against.


	4. iv - Occurred

iv- Occurred - watch?v=7XGT7BBLIz8

* * *

 _The Recovery Unit, The Tower_

 _Last City, Earth_

* * *

Guilt.

"It wasn't your fault, y'know," I said to Paledon, who was wrapped in bandages which covered the red bruises that covered his chest, as I helped him get into a bed. I could feel the pain pulsating within his body. "Here, lay down."

The big Titan struggled to get in bed but eventually got in with help. "Heh, thanks. Can't believe I need help to get into one of these things."

"You really should've been more careful. What happened anyway?"

Paledon was poking at his wounds with an experimental poke. He winced at the pain then said, "I ain't going anywhere for a few days at most." A paused, followed by a glance at me. "To answer your question, everything is fuzzy."

I sat down, the bed squeaking because of my weight. "Try and remember. Think, buddy."

"Kabril and I were at Archon's Keep, fighting Splicers and Hive. Then a Captain showed up. Big as an Archon, man." The Titan looked at me with horror. His eyes moving around aimlessly. "Kabril was knocked out, and I was taken to the forge, where you found me. That's all I can remember."

I smiled at my brother, but not once had I seem him this distraught by the enemy. "A least they didn't kill you. Maybe they are capable of mercy."

"I wouldn't go that far," he said, followed by coughs. "When do you head out to the next objective?"

"We wait for you to recover, however long it takes. We're going to avert this crisis as a team."

"I don't want to hinder you from—"

"Don't be silly," I said, my attention drawn to a group of garrulous Guardians passing by. A mix of the classes, they giggled and talked loudly, then vanished into the next room. "We can wait. Besides, we need our Titan on the field. Who else am I gonna make fun of?"

"Fuck off," Paledon said, laugher ripping through him, but it dwindled like a fire being put out by sand. "I've never seen the Fallen so powerful. That Captain ripped me to sheds even when I used my Light. There was nothing I could do."

"We'll parry him with vengeance, don't you worry," I said. "In the meantime, I'm gonna take your advice and fuck off, and go visit Saladin."

Paledon laughed again. "You do that. I'll just be here. Sleeping."

I nodded without saying anything.

"Y'know I saw Vixen when I died," he said. "She was more beautiful than I had ever seen."

I nearly staggered as I tried to response, saying, "D-do you really want to go there?"

"No, I don't," he said dryly. "I just wanted you to know."

"What happened to her was—"

"Don't," he said with venom and seriousness. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

I was worried for a moment as Paledon seemed to drift in and out of consciousness as he spoke, wanting to cling onto the illusory spirit that was once her companion in love and respect. She had died during the Taken War in a tragic accident that was unjust and cruel. Her soul and Light were taken by the burning darkness of blight corrupting her will, and she had suffered a fate worse than those who fell to Oryx, for she had grown obsessed with the worms and ascendant plane after realising the raw power they exuded. Astral, Orion's companion, had fallen to the same fate, and thus it was a tragedy as our loved ones fell in the war and we were left helpless and powerless to influence otherwise.

And now seeing visions of Vixen worried me. "I'm gonna get one of our crew to stay with you."

Paledon waved, albeit weakly, a hand airily. "Not necessary," he said. "I'll be fine."

Stubborn, ol' Paledon unwilling to fulfil my wishes. "Suit yourself. But I'm telling you." I walked to the exit, then peeled back. "You're going to want the company."

Paledon rolled over on his shoulder and said, "Bring back a relic for me, will ya? I need some upgrades."

I nodded and transmatted to orbit, and upon sitting in the cockpit of my ship I was met with worry and uncertainty of what was to come.

* * *

 _The Iron Temple,_

 _Earth_

* * *

I materialized a foot above the ground and landed a foot above the ground. All my senses came flooding back to me. The temple smelt faintly of iron and smoke.

The snowy mountains were filled with countless Guardians, running from the bounty tracker, to Shiro-4, then to the postmaster to reclaim lost items in the field. The scattered fire pits were ablaze by orange-hot coals; smoke rose to the skies, filled with hawks soaring with the winds; white wolves ambled along the edges of the area, their high-pitched howls echoing through the mountain passes.

I ran through the snowy courtyard, constructed of silver brick and stone, then up a flight of stairs, passing a Titan talking to his Ghost, and saw Saladin looking out to the distant mountains, whose jagged peaks soared through the skies, journeying through time with the wilderness. A white wolf rubbed its head on Saladin's leg. He turned around, a smile crossing his face as he saw me. "Welcome back, Young Wolf," he said in his deep, resounding voice. "You have done well so far against this crisis."

"I've done what I can," I said, unsure of what to say next. "SIVA is serious. The outbreak, it's getting worse."

"I was afraid that would be the case," Saladin said, his voice barely a whisper. "My temple is full of Guardians now. I needn't worry because we will all purge SIVA and keep my brothers' and sisters' memories alive. We must do everything in our power to weaken the Fallen's hold on SIVA."

I nodded. "Our next objective is to raid the Clovis Bray Complex on Mars. Meridian Bay."

Saladin appeared confused. "Why there?"

"It's where SIVA was created," I said. "My Ghost and I were able to extract data from dormant SIVA clusters."

"But what would that sand-ruined complex have that could aid you?"

"We don't know yet, that's why we're going to investigate further. There's something buried in the sand dunes, I can sense it."

"Do what you must."

I took a step toward the edge overlooking the entire Iron Temple. I felt the snow brush against my head, the ice crystals sticking to my hair. "I will do everything possible to make sure your Iron brethren get the vengeance they deserve. I too have lost a brother, during the Taken War, and it has blinded me from seeing my true path and purpose."

"Young Wolf, you are already on a path to righteousness and fulfilment," Saladin said, his voice full of grace and wonder. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "We lose those we fight with, it is merely natural law. I'm sure sometime during this crisis, you will be cured of your blindness and see the truth that awaits you."

"What makes you so sure?" I asked without a moment's pause. "SIVA is something I would never want."

"Don't be too sure of that," Saladin said, his pacing taking us to the confines of the temple. "Let us walk."

The pathway, paved by iron and stone, lead us to a massive expanse with tall statues of the Iron Lords widely surrounding the ablaze brazier in the centre. The smell of burning iron and smoke rose to my senses; it was oddly pleasing. I stepped through the puddles of water, looked at one of the statues, then peeked over my shoulder. "SIVA is the last thing I want."

Saladin let out a chuckle. "You say that now, but when that power speaks to you, that symbiote will take you."

"My will is unbroken," I said without a stammer. "Nothing can take me unless I let it. I have seen the Darkness take two of my sisters during the Taken War, their blood split on the crumbling altars of the Dreadnaught. Losing your will like that should not be anyone's fate nor my own. I will fight with everything I have."

"When my brothers and sisters first came in contact with SIVA, we tried to claim its power in hope it could drive humanity forward. Those were dark days, indeed, but we found a potential solution. We were wrong. We were consumed by the voices haunting the source, and illusory visions made us see terrible things. We wanted nothing more than to harness that power, be one with it, but our purpose of being there wasn't for that.

"Our objectives change, not on whim but corrupted desire, and we tried to seize SIVA but faltered because of Rasputin, responsible for controlling the flow. We had forgotten the real reason we were there. The virus killed most of my kin, contorted them, and spat them out like nothing. We were unable to control the power and that's where we failed with an altered purpose. But at that given point, my only purpose was to seal the complex for good. Jolder, my dear student, sacrificed herself to save humanity from such a dark entity, leaving me to wallow in my failure of a leader. Now my purpose is to seek revenge on whoever was responsible for tainting our memory and purge SIVA into the ground."

I took a moment's pause, anticipating that Saladin wasn't quite done speaking.

Saladin stepped up to Jolder's statue; at the base, there was a small brazier. A red-hot ball of iron materialized in Saladin's hands. Unburnt they were, as he placed the glowing orb in the basket, whereupon a burst of flames enkindled to life. "Young Wolf, you feel lost with no guidance, that the cosmos has no other objective or fate for you because of what you lost. But I disagree." The iron-hearted Titan stepped up to me, then continued, "Patience is a virtue. Once this crisis is nearly averted, you will see your purpose. And when you do, don't be afraid to take it."

Without a moment's pause, I said, "What could SIVA possible have for me, though?"

"That is for you to unearth, not me," he answered.

The crackling fire in the centre broke the acute silence hanging over us as we paced around the temple, passing each Iron Lord and sparking their brazier to gentle flames. There were iron plaques drilled on the surface on which the statues stood but the text was barely legible. The only thing that remained was their class symbol. In any case, we stepped back up to the centre brazier, exchanging furtive glances at one another until I mustered the courage to say, "I will do everything in my power to avenge you and your lost brethren."

"You and many Guardians are going to be the new generation of Iron Lords," he said, a smile meeting his corners. "I have picked well, it seems."

Later that evening, when the sunset to the west, its waning light shining across the mountainous ranges, the Iron Temple had significantly fewer Guardians and activity. There were a few who stuck around to fool around and test their new dance moves for Shiro-4, but the Exo was largely unimpressed and laughed like a mad-man. After trying desperately for renown, the trio of Guardians left, leaving me to myself.

Saladin had left me something at the top of the summit. What it was, I didn't know.

I climbed the mountain that was above the temple. The blistering cold pierced through me as my hands grappled the gelid stones and boulders that aided my scale. I slowly crossed a thin ledge, sliding carefully and precisely, stones dropping into the deep pit below. I made it across, then sprinted around a corner—before being blocked by a small cluster of evergreens.

And as I travelled further up the summit, I noted that the pass had become quiet and still, with almost no wind blowing. My heartbeats increased rapidly, beating inside of me, as if it were Orion sending me a message, telling me to stop climbing before I pushed myself to unconsciousness. Above me, a mist began to form, and it made it difficult to see anything past it, but that didn't stop me from moving forward.

Despite the blindness, I continued to move up the slope before me—beginning to feel like a ghost on a lump of rock. I found myself wanting to see Orion's face once more, but not the one in my haunted dream. I longed for his guidance, that voice that told me everything I needed to hear, a hint or sign of reassurance that I would prevail to the end.

My burning muscles ached with fire as I continued to pull myself up, jumping from ledge to ledge. At some point, as I was slinking across an icy ledge, I slipped off but stopped my fall my jamming my knife into the thick sheet of ice, coating the mountain. I grabbed my second knife and used the two as ice picks as I scaled the mountain, my legs feeling the cold still air.

The next section wasn't what I was expecting, but I pushed through the hell of the mountain. Snow, brought on by dark clouds being carried by the distant erratic currents, blew into my face. I prevailed through the whipping snowstorm, rapidly increasing in strength by nature's gift; and forcing my way through it all, I heard my brother's voice in my head—telling me that my fate in the universe was sealed, that nothing could stride me away from reaching the peaks. Abhorrent memories hike my mind, nearly making me lose focus as I pulled myself up to another ledge. Thereafter stowing my blades as I reached solid ground.

Continuing through the summit, the clouds became significantly darker and harsher, the wind more violent as it howled with the hawks enduring the storm. And through the compelling nature of my will, I advanced strongly, not faltering under a false pretense that I would fail. The darkness brought upon more evergreens, hidden in the mist, and they pricked me as I pushed through the dense cluster; the cold was making my eyes water, my blood freeze, and my ears were filled with sounds of the weeping blizzard. And, after taking a few seconds to catch my breath, I looked back at the trail that had brought me here; blurred memories sorted through my feeble mind, clouded by the past.

I leapt on a stone, at least a few metres away from me, and landed safely. There were rocks etched into the mountain for easier climbing. Rock after rock, I continued upward, pushing through the wrath of the elements, until I reached the peak. I pulled myself up, my breathing heavy, and was reacquainted by the vibrant starlight that guided me to a fire pit, ablaze by afire kindling. Burning embers rose to the heavens, iron-grey smoke mixing with the cold air, and the crackling fire burned with valour and glory; the flames were perfect, with a purpose in the cosmos—their unbroken will fighting against nature and its enraged will; everything around the clearing was divine, an enigma beyond all understanding as nothing could rewrite the sheer pulchritude of the kindling; and through the smoke and burning passion of fire, a glowing orange-red blade rested in the scorched earth, surrounded by burning embers.

With my gelid grasp, I gripped the handle with pacified courage, fortified by the iron will that jolted through me; a sense of pure power enkindled with me, sparking the flames in respect for the deceased Iron Lords. And in that mere second of touching the hilt of the blade, the flames became larger and more reactive; orange flames, untamed by the howling winds, consumed the entire blade and even my hand. The flames didn't burn, however; they trickled me as I turned my hand around, staring deeply at the small inferno making me be one with it. Then, out of spontaneous combustion, the flames exploded into a ring of fire, then condensed into a fiery orb; its will was its own as it swayed under nature's influence, dancing with a burning grace. And it was then when I placed a hand on the precious artefact, whereupon it shattered and a fire wolf emerged from the red glass.

The small fire transformed into a wild bonfire, controlled by this fiery spirit wolf, who howled gracefully though the mountains; the storm below the summit calmed as nature drank in its minion's pleas for rest. The clouds and mist disbanded, allowing for the starlight and moonlight radiate off the glistening white mountains, including the Iron Temple. The ablaze wolf stared up at the star-painted sky with me, then howled again. I smiled at the spirit, knowing it was manifested by the remembrance of our lost brethren.

Later that evening after sitting with my wolf friend, for what felt like eons, I looked around for anything interesting or of use. I came across some sealed leather book, ruined by years of the cold. The pages were solid, but I could get to some of the surviving pages. According to some of the text, when the wolves of fire howl, it's a ritual the Iron Lords used to do after they lose a comrade in the field. They call it the "Call of Fire," where they summon a wolf, symbolizing the lonesome nature of death, to commemorate the the lost memories of the dead.

I flipped through other pages, but the scribing were barely legible.

I sighed as I stared at the sky, wondering where my fate would take me, and what purpose I had in this universe. I felt so lost without my brother's guidance, for some reason. What was blocking me from seeing my path? Was it my blindness or refusal to accept what my fate was?

I glanced at the fire wolf who paid by the look before letting out a soft howl and laying its head in the cold snow.

The glistening stars flashed in the sky, as if they were trying to converse with me. The cosmos, so vast and ill, a dimension we barely understand yet we let it influence us on who we are, what we're destined to do and be.

Memories of the past surged through my mind, as I had begun to remember a dangerous mission Orion and I had volunteered to do: Assassinating a Fallen Arms Specialist in the forests of the EDZ. It was the third thing we did together. Rather early on during our developing bond.

I remember liked it was yesterday. And it was during that time and place when I had thought I found my purpose in the universe. But I was mistaken.

I couldn't help but recall everything and how it precisely happened.

* * *

The _Weeping Swamps,_

 _European Dead Zone, Earth_

 _Time: 1430 Hours_

 _Era: Years Before Crota's Return_

* * *

The European Dead Zone was easily the most earthy place I had been to since I was resurrected. Everything felt so natural and it felt like I was mere blocks away from my former home, in the life I once had. From the densely grown forests filled with green foliage and fallen trees, to the free-flowing rivers that streamed into small lakes, and the wildlife that had adapted through years of the decaying cities, the EDZ was a devastating wonder, a place rich with Golden Age technology and buried history—secrets just waiting to be unearthed and benefited to our City.

The forecast was clear but cold, the sun shining through the thick fog, nesting above the muddy, slimy waters of the swamp, difficult to push through. The trees, covered in moss, surrounded the path before us, and aquatic life swam through the underwaters, leaving ripples in their wake; none of them bothered us despite them being fairly predatory. There were patches of swamp gas rising in small pockets around the inundation; the smell wasn't as vile as I thought it would be; it reminded me of strong mildew—but faint of its terrible aroma. The green water put me at slight unease as the feeling of slimy weeds tickled me as I pushed through the earthy water, feeling the mud stick beneath my boots.

The wetlands were a dangerous place without the proper gear, but Orion and I were donned with a tan-camouflaged ghillie suit and a suppressed sniper rifle. Nothing would get in our way of achieving our objectives.

Orion emerged from the watery depths, his head popping out. "What's your advice?" he asked, scoping through his lens.

I floated to a breathing root, situated above the water. Held onto my sniper, then peeked through mine. "There's another in the watchtower, by the yew."

"I see him," Orion said, his voice barely a whisper. "It's your shot, bud. Your purpose."

"Nice and easy…" I said. A silent shot bolted from the barrel, a heap of smoke left behind; the Arc shot blazed through the thick fog, leaving a trail behind, but not obvious enough to alert the nearby patrol. The bullet zoomed through the air, not losing momentum, and stuck the Vandal in the head, ether ejecting out. Its body fell silently. "Let's hope there was anything else in that tower."

"What about the patrol?"

"On me," I said.

We pushed through the waters, as silently as possible; splashing and gushing were kept to a minimum, but the ripples we left behind were the most obvious. The two of us hid behind a big root, then, without a moment's pause, I dove underwater, Orion following suit. The waters below were mysterious and blurry by all the algae spiralling around as I moved under the water. Fish darted past us out of fear, green bubbles blinding my vision but only for a few seconds. I surfaced and had a knife in my mouth—ready to kill my prey. Orion looked at me, waiting for my go. I nodded.

Instantly, I pulled the Vandal into the water and jammed my knife through its chest—using the water to silence its frantic cries; ether mixed with the water. A blue incandescent gel radiated under the little sunlight that reached these grounds. I pushed the dead Vandal away and let the currents carry it to its afterlife. I pulled myself up onto the docks, then gave Orion a helping hand. "Good work. Now let's go, we don't want to lose that target!"

From then on, we pushed through the dense forest, still shrouded by fog. A trail brought us to a small outpost the Fallen had built as a temporary base. There were all classes of Fallen guarding the place, even a tank scanning for movement using its spotlight. That beam of light would surely pierce through any fog so now things just got tougher, but it wasn't anything my partner and I couldn't handle.

We were on another set of docks, filled with Fallen supply crates and a terminal. There were things like tires leaning against posts, and rope tethered to a predated watercraft. The area provided ample cover as we formulated our plan. "Captains and Vandals, with a tank," I said, my binoculars marking a sniper in a tower. "Got eyes on a sniper. Take him out and hope for the best."

Orion scoped through his sniper. Then took the shot. The bullet met the target. "Target down," he said, pudhing rounds into the chamber of his weapon. "Follow me. And stay low."

We advanced, crouch walking, and sought cover behind a stack of crates. A Vandal was coming to us so I readied my blade. "Get ready to fight back," I said without a moment's pause. "Things can go real south here."

When the Vandal, its footsteps thudding against the rotting and squeaking planks, crossed our path, it immediately cried, but not loud enough to draw attention, so I quickly sliced its throat open, then silenced its cries with a hand. "Shh," I mumbled. "Go to sleep." I dragged the body out of sight. "See that shack to the right?"

"I do," Orion said.

"On my go." I peeked over and when the patrolling Vandal digressed its track, we ran like the wind. There were a lot of things scattered on the docks, but we jumped over them, focusing intensely on our course; nothing was going to sway us from reaching the rotting, wooden shack. A Fallen Skiff tore through the air, but it was merely dropping off supplies to the outpost; lucky for us, it didn't detect us as we reached the threshold of the shack.

With our backs against the outside, I peaked around the corner seeing the same Vandal from earlier; and when it came around the corner, I grabbed its head and knocked the thing out, evident by its fading eyes. "Not meeting death today, bud," I said, traversing through the array of shacks. Upon reaching the last one, the only way slipping to our objective point was the tank. "Shit. What do we do?"

"There has to be another way," Orion said calmly. "There's always another way."

"We cloak ourselves."

With the combustion of my smoke bomb, we were both invisible by the elements. We ran up to the tank, then crawled underneath it.

Respecting your enemy's power in any situation is how you become the victor.

We moved slowly, crawling under the machine beast; its sheer weight quaked the ground beneath us as we advanced, eventually reaching the other side. We ran past a group of Captains, then found ourselves on a hill, overlooking a trail in the dense forest ahead. And after pushing through another outpost, full of Fallen goons, we came across an outpost, far larger than the previous ones, but neither of us was stepping foot in that outpost. We were going to do this from afar.

We dove back in the flow of the swamp, then found a crashed airship, tangled with vines. They suspended the ship from falling, and it seemed stable enough to set up a kill point. So, naturally, we swam through the abhorrent currents, filled with various elements of the swamp. We grapple hooked our way to the top, Orion holding onto me as we remained suspended. After releasing the hook, we fell on the ship, slowly shifting from the sudden force. Rocks rumbled and the vines stretched a little wider, dropping us lower.

"Okay," I said, setting up the high-calibre sniper. "We only got one shot at this."

"Oh, you're being literal now?" Orion asked, chuckling, as he gazed through his scope. Then he looked at me. "We cannot miss. You cannot miss. If we do, the EDZ is going to be more difficult to retake." A pause, followed by looking through the scope. "You want guidance from this mission, yes? Start by protecting the survivors, the people who are in the surrounding areas. Protect them. You will feel fulfilled once you get the kill."

"Here goes nothing," I said, Orion and I strapping ourselves to a jagged rock. Through the scope was an entire Fallen base of operations with numerous unactivated tanks and Skiffs, along with heavy Pikes. A little further zoom and there was more to see: Numerous supply crates were stacked in the far corner, and barrels ether in the mix. A massive Servitor was hovering over the mass of Fallen, distributing their tithe of ether for the months to come. The pure white ether floated in the air to its hosts, then absorbed all of it. The Fallen seemed more resilient and aggressive now. Best not disrupt them yet.

"It's the ether ritual," I said, taking a small interest in their culture.

"Never mind that," Orion said sternly. "Remember your purpose. Never lose sight of it."

The scope picked up a heat signature being dropped off by a bigger Skiff. It was a huge Archon. Rivkis, the Arms Supplier was its tag. "So that's the Archon."

"Yes, now focus. Where do you need to aim?"

"His supply," I said. "It'll destroy the entire outpost."

"Remember why you need to take the shot."

The scope hovered over my prime target, the Archon. With a distorted oblong head, there were tendrils moving at their will at the back of his head; they were corrupted by some symbiote that lingered in the forests of the EDZ. The Archon turned its back, exposing several small orbs containing ether. The white gaseous substance glistened with a beautiful force not know to the universe; its presence was appealing to the eye, distracting me from my objective. "Steady, now," I mumbled, my breath on hold. "Focus!"

The Archon, armed with a heavy Scorch cannon, began absorbing an absurd amount of ether—even disrupting its lesser from their tithe; the streams of ether all traversed to the priest, laughing maniacally at its own twisted humour. And during its greed, a pitiful Dreg, beast with a thousand arms, tried to interrupt its master's hunger, throwing a barrage of Shock Grenades in hope it would show mercy; but that Dreg was instantly dismembered, its body ripped in half by the sheer strength of the Archon, sending a ghostly white spirit escaped into the air as the Dreg's ether was merely absorbed by its betrayer.

And when that Archon moved, after being rejected more ether, I took a deep breath and focused. The orbs on his back were concentrated with ether, explosive. The bullets in our rifle were designed to destabilize ether and combust it with the help of air. "I'm ready, the shot is good," I said, tracking my target, my crosshairs not swaying from the orbs. Without any hesitation, I pulled the trigger; and at that moment, the bullet tore through the sound barrier, leaving a deafening shot that surely ruffled the hornet's nest. The bullet travelled at lightning speed, passing a flagpole, then struck the orbs. An eruption of flames violently dispersed in all directions—followed by a terrible scream of agony and death beyond corporeal function.

The Archon was spared no mercy, his form turning into a heap of ash as he burned from his own volatile essence. The priest vanished completely, leaving its brethren behind, who instantly took sight of our location—forcing us to initiate plan B. Unlatching ourselves from the jagged rock was the first order of business, then we dove into the swamp's shallow water; bubbles rose to the surface as I flailed around aimlessly in the water and panicked like a scared fish. As I gathered my senses together, I pushed through the water, front crawling through the muddy waters, while trying to elude the barrage of attacks flying their way to us. The blue orbs of Arc gracefully struck us, stunning us for a few seconds until we recovered.

The tanks sparked to life and rained down numerous artillery fire our way, but we were unscathed. We found ourselves to shore, then found cover behind a shack, before noticing a tunnel in the ground. "Over here!" I shouted.

We slid in the cave system, our Ghosts illuming the path before us; eventually, we came across a section of the cave where the sunlight shafted through the open gaps above. I landed on a mossy ledge, then contacted a small stream of water forming a waterfall below. There was a pond filled with lily pads and aquatic life swimming under the cold water. A natural garden of cattails and lilies and arum lilies were growing around a fallen rotting tree, on the edges of the water. The path ahead lead to a series of rocks to climb to the next section; and with patience and endurance, we scaled the wall of stone, then found an exit, back to the swamps. The entire area was devoid of all living things, including wildlife. Only Orion and I stood in the eerie waters that were the Weeping Swamps. I glanced at him then said, "I feel my purpose is to protect those in the wildlands. And I will follow through with that until my last breath."

"Things will change," Orion said, pushing through the water. "It always does. If that's what you want to do in the meantime, consider it but know there are consequences to follow for neglecting other things to consider. But when you feel your purpose change, we'll accomplish something else, something grand."

"What other purpose could I possibly have?"

Orion caught a fish with his bare hands, then skinned it with his knife. "That's for you to find out, and you alone. It's time to eat."

"I'm not eating one of your terribly cook meals. Especially swamp fish. Forget about it."

"You're a poor sport," Orion said as he splashed me with vile water.

"Oh, you're gonna get it now," I said, countering him with my own wave of muddy water.

* * *

 _Palewolf, Iron Temple,_

 _Earth_

* * *

The fire wolf had disappeared a little while ago, leaving me to my own thoughts with the star-painted sky. The summit was brilliantly vibrant as the skyline faintly illumed the dark clouds spanning across the mountaintops. The firepit at which I sat didn't have any energy to it, only a heap of ashes, left by the Call of Fire ritual; they spiralled like a twister before scattering across the deep pass below, finding their own fate in the universe.

Right now my purpose was to help eradicate the Splicers and avenge the Iron Lords, but why did I have a dreadful feeling that I would be lost at the end of this haunting crisis? Had I been blind to see the real path before me?

Perhaps SIVA did have something for me but what? Why would I ever want to exude such a terrible power? Being consumed by the harrowing whispers of the unknown power of the nanites was as terrifying as being Taken by the Darkness. There would have to be something catastrophic for me to abide by the laws of red; until then, I want nothing more than to avenge the dead Lords of Iron.

I let my vision scatter to a group of birds soaring through the violet skies, attuned with nature. Their feeble cries echoed through the passes, sending a shiver down my spine as nature communicated with me on a spiritual scale; wolves howled in the distance, summoning me to their grace, but I didn't respond or react; instead, I listened, hoping there was something that could lead me to my true fate in this universe. The chime was endearing as if it were another ritual the Iron Lord endured during the dark ages during the collapse. A symphony beyond all comprehension, it fulfilled me to the brim, making me at ease and unworried of what I should expect; but there was a forewarning that the sealed fate before me was dark and lead to a graveyard riddled with grim forces.

I smiled as I continued to stare at the beautiful vista, knowing that I would soon find my purpose.


End file.
